The damage sustained by Belarus after the transfer of the poor-quality Russian oil will manifest itself in under-received funds for transit, under-received profits from oil refining, and funds spent on refining as well as, possibly, on replacing or repairing damaged equipment, senior director of the corporate department of Fitch Dmitry Marinchenko said.
According to the calculations of the Russian Vedomosti, the total damage to Belarus can range from $ 271.3 million to $ 435.3 million.
Thus, the payment for the transit of oil through the territory of Belarus with the tariff of 2018 in the amount of $ 0.84 for 1 ton per 100 kilometers could reach $ 15.96 per ton, and the lost revenue with the last year’s tariff and pumping volumes could amount to $ 29 – 35 million in 14 days.
As a result of a possible reduction of the pipeline throughput capacity to 40 million tons, in 2019 the transit state company will not receive from money for pumping of 8.9 million to 18.8 million tons of oil ($ 142-300 million).
After receiving low-quality oil, Belarusian refineries reduced the production of petroleum products, without receiving revenues of $ 100 million.
The Mazyr Oil Refinery also stated that poor-quality oil damaged the heat exchange tubes of the XK-105 air cooler in six installations. Such tubes cost about $ 53 thousand each.
On May 11, the contamination of the Druzhba pipeline was sharply criticized by the head of Belarus, Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
“As for the specific amount of damage, it is still unknown, but it is obvious that it will be very high. I can’t say this amount right now. It will be known for sure after we review what happened at the Navapolatsk refinery, and now we are calculating losses,” Alyaksandr Lukashenka explained.
Oil in Druzhba was polluted shortly after Lukashenka threatened Moscow to close the pipeline for repairs in response to Russia’s blocking imports of Belarusian products.
