Russia resumes diesel fuel pipeline supply to Ukraine, fuel never went to Belarus
MOSCOW. March 15 (Interfax) - Russia has not carried out fuel deliveries to Belarus via pipeline; fuel was transported through Belarus in transit to Ukraine and on to Europe.
"Transneft never supplied oil products to Belarus via pipeline. Diesel fuel went through Belarus in transit to Ukraine," an adviser to the president of the pipeline monopoly and press secretary Igor Dyomin told Interfax.
He said that at the end of last week diesel fuel supply to Ukraine was resumed. "Rosneft processed all the necessary documents and pumping was resumed. Around 140,000 tonnes could be pumped in March," he said.
Belneftekhim told Interfax that it does not have any information on any supply restrictions of Russian oil products to Belarus. The state concern's press secretary Marina Kostyuchenko said that the country's domestic market is supplied with a sufficient amount of fuel, produced by Belarusian refineries.
Information surfaced in a number of Belarusian media outlets on possible supply restrictions of oil products from Russian companies. Sources cited a Russian Energy Ministry letter which spoke about the inadvisability of a large shipment of Russian oil products, especially diesel fuel, to Belarusian companies "due to the availability of large oil processing capacity in Belarus."
Last week, sources in the industry told Interfax that pipeline supplies of Russian diesel fuel to Ukraine had been stopped for a month as Russia's Federal Service for Technical and Export Control (FSTEC) did not process the necessary documents. Meanwhile, the service said that, "information about the FSTEC's alleged decision to stop pipeline supplies of diesel fuel to Ukraine does not correspond with reality." Supplies of diesel fuel to Ukraine are being permitted for civilian use on the basis of a comprehensive risk analysis connected with the possibility they will be used in the interest of Ukraine's military structures, FSTEC said.
"Russia does not have intergovernmental agreements to supply oil products to Hungary and Ukraine. Diesel supplies in those areas are being carried out by business entities on the basis of their economic feasibility. Therefore talking about Russia cutting supplies is not correct." the Russian Energy Ministry press service said. At the same time, the ministry added that according to Russian pipeline operator Transneft , supplies were halted on February 8, 2017 "due to contracts to export oil products being renegotiated."