BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

17/11/2006

Belarus ups export duties on crude, oil products

MINSK, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Belarus would increase export duties for oil and most refined products, the government said on Friday, following Moscow's threat to cut oil supplies to Minsk if it did not bring its duties more in line with Russia's.

The government said in a statement that oil duties would be raised to $128.2 from $102.6 per a tonne.

Export duties for light refined products will rise to $75.8 from $57 per a tonne and for heavy products to $92.9 from $71.9 per a tonne. The new rules will come into force in 10 days.

"The document is aimed at the gradual levelling and convergence to the levels of Russian custom export duties," the statement said.

Belarus, which is in the customs union with Russia, has regularly been raising its custom duties for oil and oil products but they still lag behind the Russian duties.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that Russia might cut oil supplies to Belarus if the country keeps using the crude, imported on favourable terms, for profitable oil products exports to third countries.

Russian crude supplies to neighbouring Belarus are expected to amount to 19.75 million tonnes this year. Belarus wants the supplies to be increased to 21.5 million tonnes next year.

Analysts estimate that Belarus' revenues from exporting oil products made of Russian oil amounted to $3.7 billion in the first half of this year.

Russian crude oil pipeline monopoly Transneft said earlier this month that, due to an oil leak, it had cut pressure in part of the Druzhba (Friendship) export pipeline in Europe, reducing its supplies to Belarus.

Source:

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/061117/3/2t3kk.html