BELARUS: Belarus imposes duty on Russian oil exports

Record ID: 755531

  • Title: BELARUS: Belarus imposes duty on Russian oil exports
  • Date: 4th January 2007
  • Summary: (BN16) SURDZHA, RUSSIA (FILE - JANUARY 2006) (REUTERS) INTERIOR OF CONTROL ROOM AT A GAZPROM GAS RELAY STATION/ STAFF INSIDE RELAY STATION COMPUTER SCREENS MONITORING GAS SUPPLY VARIOUS OF PIPELINE NETWORK AT GAS RELAY STATION STAFF TURNING A VALVE AT GAS RELAY STATION WIDE OF PIPELINE NETWORK AT GAS RELAY STATION
  • Embargoed: 19th January 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Belarus
  • Country: Belarus
  • Topics: International Relations,Energy
  • Reuters ID: LVAAFHHFQ07O8DIF6X99R9A64N35
  • Story Text: Belarus imposed export duty on Russian oil crossing its territory on Wednesday (January 3) with a potential impact on oil markets, as President Alexander Lukashenko hit back at Moscow in an energy row.
    "The government of Russian Federation, Russian leadership promised us to solve oil problem, we have done everything they (Russian government members) wanted. The time has come for them ( Russian government members) to keep their promises. If it does not happen, we have the right to act the same way, to be free in our decisions. I mean to raise the issue of the Russian federation to pay for Russian oil transit across Belarus, to pay for the soil allotted to oil and gas pipelines, as well as for Russian property here (in Belarus)," said the president.
    Belarus Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky said his government was imposing a duty of 45 U.S. dollars (USD) per tonne on Russian oil that transits his country en route to customers in Europe.
    "The (Belarussian) government has decided to to impose, effective from January 1, 2007, customs duty, on (Russian) crude oil exports across the territory of Belarus. The price is calculated by a traditional formula, coming from the initial price (of exported oil), the European price of oil and in January, the (Belarussian commission) has fixed the duty fee to amount to 45 (U.S.) dollars per tonne of oil shipped across Belarussian territory," he said in a statement for journalists.
    About 1 million barrels of Russian crude a day -- over a fifth of Russia's total exports -- are shipped via the Druzhba pipeline that passes through Belarus. Most of it goes to customers in Germany and Poland.
    Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transeft said Belarus had no right to impose the duty but traders were worried enough by the possible impact on supplies to interrupt their New Year holiday, which lasts until Jan. 9.
    Minsk's move came in response to Moscow's decision to impose full duties on exports of Russian crude to Belarus. Until now, these have been shipped duty free to refineries in Belarus which has then re-exported them as refined products to other countries in a lucrative tax loophole.
    Belarus has also been forced to agree to a twofold increase in the price it pays for imports of Russian gas, angering Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko.
    "If those in Russia, choking on this influx of petrodollars and other sources of hard currency, are still willing to make a scapegoat of Belarus ... then let's ask the Russian Federation -- so huge and so rich -- to pay us in full for our services," state news agency BelTA quoted Lukashenko as telling his ministers on Wednesday.
    Soon after, Sidorsky called in reporters to announced the transit duty on Russian oil.
    Transneft said it was legally impossible for Belarus to impose the duty.
    Russia and Belarus share many of the same political and cultural values and have been in talks for years about merging into a single state.
    But disputes in the past few months over energy have soured the relationship. Moscow says its ex-Soviet neighbours -- even those closely allied to it -- should be weaned off subsidies and start paying market prices for energy.
    Last month Russia's government said it would impose an export duty of
    70 USD per tonne of oil exported to Belarus from 2007. Oil exports to Belarus were previously free of tax.
    Belarus refineries are estimated to have consumed around 20 million tonnes of Russian crude last year.
    Russia and Belarus this week signed the new gas price deal after last-minute talks beat a Jan. 1, 2007 deadline. The deal narrowly averted supply disruptions to Europe because Minsk had threatened to disable the pipeline shipping Russian gas to European customers.
    Under the deal, Belarus must now pay 100 USD per 1,000 cubic metres of gas, up from 45 USD.
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