BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

29/11/2006

Belarus technically ready to receive Azeri oil

MINSK. Nov 29 (Interfax) - Belarus has all the technical possibilities necessary to organize supplies of oil from Azerbaijan into the country, a source in Belarussian oil transport company Gomeltransneft Druzhba told Interfax.

The source said that to organize these supplies it would be necessary to integrate the Belarussian section of the Druzhba pipeline and Ukraine's Odesa-Brody pipeline into a unified system. "These pipelines are currently joined like, for example, like the water systems of different regions in one city, but they are separated by valves," he said.

He said that the system of pipeline valves is managed by the state on whose territory they are located.

"Obviously it is necessary to reach interstate agreements, in this case with Ukraine, to open these valves to allow Azerbaijani oil be transported to Belarus," the source said.

He also said that to integrate the Belarussian section of the Druzhba pipeline and the Odesa-Brody pipeline there is no need to build additional connector pipes. The integration of the pipelines, in addition to increasing oil supplies for Belarus and diversifying sources of hydrocarbons, would also increase the opportunities for international companies working in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan to supply oil to Poland and Germany through the Druzhba pipeline from Black Sea ports through Ukraine.

The source said that at the moment the Belarussian section of the Druzhba pipeline is technically able to operate in both directions - forward and in reverse. "So, we could transport oil from Odesa," he said.

Russia is currently the only supplier of oil to Belarus. According to the Russian-Belarussian unified fuel and energy balance in 2006, supplies of Russian oil into the republic in 2006 will amount to 19.75 million tonnes, of which 18.75 million tonnes will be supplied by pipeline.

Source:

http://www.interfax.com/3/217432/news.aspx