Oil shipments by rail to Belarus could make up pipeline shortfall - Russian ambassador
MINSK. Oct 2 (Interfax) - Transneft's announcement that it will reduce the amount of oil it delivers by pipeline to Belarus does not mean that country will receive less oil than planned because rail shipments could make up the shortfall, Russian Ambassador to Belarus Alexander Surikov told journalists on Wednesday.
"Transneft makes announcements for itself, how much it can deliver by pipeline. But Transneft's announcement does not mean an overall reduction in oil deliveries," Surikov said.
"For now the pipeline volumes have been determined. The overall balance for the fourth quarter will take shape once the volumes of oil, including rail shipments, have been agreed," he said. "The governments still need to talk about that," he said.
Transneft earlier announced that it would reduce oil shipments to Belarus by 400,000 tonnes in September. Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich later said that overall deliveries of oil to Belarus in the fourth quarter would be less than in the third.
Rosneft subsequently appealed to Transneft to maintain shipments to Belarus at previous levels.
Belarus was to receive 5.75 million tonnes of crude oil from Russia in the third quarter, the same amount it received from Russia in each of the first and second quarters. However, the two sides still disagree over the total amount of oil Belarus will receive this year: Russia wants to deliver 18.5 million tonnes while Belarus has insisted on 23 million tonnes.
