BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

13/01/2007

Russia Cuts Duty on Belarus Oil Exports

By MIKE ECKEL

Associated Press Writer

Russia has reportedly agreed to slash the duty on oil exports to Belarus by 70 percent and Belarus will share with Moscow a substantial amount of profits from the refined oil products it sells to Europe.

Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov was quoted Friday by Russian news agencies as making the announcement after some 10 hours of tense talks in Moscow with his Belarusian counterpart, Sergei Sidorsky.

"In fact, we will for example earn $53 from every metric ton (of oil) exported to Belarus," Fradkov was quoted as saying by Interfax. That is down from a duty of $180 per ton.

A Kremlin spokesman said he had no information on the talks; a top official with Russian state-controlled pipeline operator OAO Transneft also declined to comment.

The announcement capped a week of discussions and brinkmanship by Russia and Belarus, and came two days after Belarus' government canceled a $45-per-ton transit tax on Russian oil - a tax that had prompted Moscow to cut off oil shipments to Belarus and disrupt supplies to Europe.

It also appeared to be a victory, at least monetarily, for Russia, which will reap revenues from both the duty on oil exported to Belarus as well as from some of the billions that Belarus has made from refining cheap Russian oil and selling value-added products to European markets.

Fradkov said the latest agreements would bring over $1 billion into the Russian budget, Interfax reported.

The disruption in oil supplies, which affected Germany, Poland and a host of other countries, again rattled many European capital and cast new doubts on Russia's dependability as an energy supplier.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said after the oil was turned on again that "we would now like to open a dialogue with Russia in order to establish our future energy relations on a reliable, enduring basis."

Andrei Illarionov, a former top economic adviser to President Vladimir Putin and an open critic of Kremlin policies, said Russia was the clear loser in what he called a "trade war."

"Russia as a whole has lost. Russian citizens, energy companies, Russian consumers ... The reputation of Russia as a key supplier of energy resources has suffered another powerful blow," Illarionov said in comments on Ekho Moskvy radio.

He said Russia would have to include "risk clauses" in any future energy supply contracts in order to protect consumers against such supply disruptions.

The dispute centered on Russia's imposition of the $180-per-ton duty on oil shipped to Belarus last year - over the strenuous objections of Minsk. Earlier this month, a chagrined Minsk slapped the $45-per-ton transit fee on Russian oil going to European customers via a pipeline crossing Belarus.

On Monday, Russia shut off the flow, claiming that Belarus had siphoned off some 80,000 tons of oil as payment for the transit fee.

On Wednesday, Belarus lifted the transit tax and the oil flow resumed hours later.

Belarus' largely centralized Soviet-style economy depends on cheap Russian energy supplies. But Russia is moving to end its longtime practice of selling energy at discounted prices to ex-Soviet states.

This year, Russia forced Belarus to pay more than double its previous rate for natural gas imports.

Source:

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070112/API/701123761&cachetime=3&template=dateline

Google
 


Partners:
Face.by Social Network
Face.by