BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

08/01/2007

Russian oil shipments to European Union cutoff following renewed flare-up of tensions with Belarus

By Finfacts Team

The renewed flare-up in the energy row between the Russian Federation and its neighbouring dictatorship Belarus, through which a pipeline carries oil to the European Union, does poses "no immediate risk" to energy supplies in the EU energy commissioner said Monday.

The cutoff comes after Belarus introduced a transit tax in retaliation for higher charges imposed by Moscow for crude supplied to the former Soviet state. Last year a disagreement between Russian energy giant OAO Gazprom and Ukraine lowered deliveries to Europe from the Russian natural-gas producer.

However, Andris Piebalgs said he was seeking an "urgent and detailed explanation" of the cuts from authorities in Belarus and Russia.

Poland's Economics Ministry said the country was encountering disruptions in oil deliveries, the result of a dispute between Moscow and Minsk over transit fees. Russia's Interfax news agency reported today that Belarus had ordered a halt to deliveries of Russian oil that goes via its territory to Germany, Poland and Ukraine.

A spokesman for Piebalgs said he was trying to find out if Slovakia and countries in South-Eastern Europe were also affected.

Piebalgs says that he is considering calling a special meeting of energy experts from the EU27 member countries to discuss the situation, in case they had to draw on oil stocks.

His spokesman Ferran Tarradellas Espuny said Poland had 70 days of reserves and Germany 130 days.

Poland is seeking to reduce energy dependence on Russia, whose pipelines supply more than 90 percent of its crude oil and almost two-thirds of its gas. Belarus, while traditionally a close ally of Russia, is protesting Russian plans to raise gas prices to market levels and has imposed a duty on oil transit that Russia says violates trade agreements.

Copyright 2007 by Finfacts.com

Source:

http://www.finfacts.com/irelandbusinessnews/publish/article_10008606.shtml

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