Russia is not very satisfied with the proposal of Belarus to raise the tariff for the northern branch of Druzhba by 84% – Kommersant

The head of the Ministry of Energy, Nikolai Shulginov, said that Russia was not very satisfied with the proposal of Belarus to raise the tariff for oil transit through the northern branch of the Druzhba oil pipeline. According to him, the tariff should be “fair and economically justified”, negotiations will continue. At the end of May, Belarus proposed to increase the tariff by 84%.

“We will discuss this issue. There now supplies go more to Germany and Poland, but still we must determine a fair and economically justified tariff. Deliveries there are now going to Germany via the northern branch, we are coordinating them. There are no shipments of Russian oil there now. The total volumes are increasing every month, primarily by Germany. Every quarter we look at how much oil the pipeline system can pass,” said Mr. Shulginov (quoted from “Interfax”).

The head of the Ministry of Energy said that the delivery of 1.2 million tons from Kazakhstan through the Druzhba oil pipeline has been agreed for the current year. At the same time, Mr. Shulginov noted that Astana does not participate in negotiations on the size of the tariff, because the pipeline is not theirs. He stressed that the size of the tariff is still being discussed.

On May 26, the operator of the Belarusian section of the Druzhba oil pipeline, Gomeltransnafta Druzhba, turned to Transneft with a proposal to raise oil transportation tariffs by 84% from July 1 to the current level. If the offer is approved, supplies will rise in price not only for Germany and Poland, where only Kazakhstani oil is currently supplied, but also for the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. According to experts, all these countries may start looking for alternative sources of raw materials in the event of a tariff increase.

More details – in the material “Friendship is pumping losses”.

Erdni Kagaltynov