Page 12 - FSUOGM Week 39 2019

FSUOGM
FSUOGM
to generate about $2mn in earnings by the
end of the year, yet Minsk will still lose about $21mn, he added. “Negotiations on further compensations will take place. We will evaluate missing revenues at the end of the year and will come up with a scheduled increase in the tariffs in February.”
In April, Belarus, Ukraine, some Central European countries and Germany suspended oil imports via the Druzhba pipeline after finding contaminants that could damage refinery equipment. Russia’s law enforcement agencies and oil pipeline operator Transneft launched a criminal investigation into possible deliberate contamination of oil.
In July, Minsk said that the exports of Belarusian state-owned oil and petroleum conglomerate Belneftekhim shrank by $800mn in 2019 compared with the previous year due to the crisis over the poor-quality oil supplies from Russia.
In May, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Lyashenkon said Minsk was going to seek compensation for the direct and indirect losses caused by the poor-quality oil.
“We’ve talked to [our Russian] colleagues. Two kinds of compensations are involved: direct losses of enterprises and indirect losses. The direct losses are simple to understand - broken equipment,” he said. “Competent groups are working on it. The Russian side has assured
us that Belarus will get compensations for documented expenses. Naturally, we’ve raised the issue of indirect losses, too.”
During the first week of the crisis, Minsk reduced the workload of Mozyr oil refinery by around 40%, and of Naftan refinery by around 50%. Belarus estimates its revenue losses at around $100mn as a result of Russia’s supplies of low-quality oil, according to Belneftekhim. Belarus was also forced to suspend exports of light oil products to Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic states.
bne IntelliNews, September 27 2019
Belneftekhim confirms
plans to sign deal on
Kazakh oil deliveries to
Belarus in October
Belarus’ Belneftekhim state energy holding confirmed on September 26 that Belarus
and Kazakhstan will sign a deal on deliveries of Kazakh oil to Belarus in October when Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is expected to visit the Central Asian nation.
Lukashenko originally made the suggestion to import Kazakh oil in the wake of Russia halting oil flows via the Druzhba pipeline in April after contaminated oil was discovered. Belarus has previously accused Russia of supplying low quality oil. Moreover, Belarus had to reduce the workload of its refineries, possibly due to a row between Moscow and Minsk over a new tax regime on Russian oil that will cost the Belarusian budget billions of dollars.
Despite the contamination leading to a brief halt in oil flows to Belarus and parts of Europe, Belarusian refineries will not post losses in 2019, Belneftekhim’s deputy head Vladimir Sizov told reporters.
bne IntelliNews, September 27 2019
CENTRAL ASIA & SOUTH CAUCASUS
Kashagan operators consider
construction of $1bn gas
processing plant
Kazakhstan and a consortium of oil majors operating and developing the giant Kashagan oil and gas field are considering construction of a $1bn gas processing plant with a capacity of
1bn cubic metres per year near the field, Kazakh Deputy Energy Minister Murat Zhurebekov told Reuters on September 26.
Kashagan is operated by the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), made up of Total, Eni, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, KazMunayGas, Inpex and China National Petroleum. Zhurebekov added that Kazakhstan has given up the possibility of building a similar plant near Karachaganak, another giant oil field, as it would require gas reinjection to further increase condensate production. The country has been in talks with Karachaganak’s operating consortium (Shell, Eni, KazMunayGaz, Chevron and Lukoil) about this project.
The deputy minister noted Kazakhstan had not yet decided how to finance the project. “We have not decided whether it would be state funds, private money or money from the national (gas market) operator Kaztransgas,” he said.
bne IntelliNews, September 27 2019
SOCAR opens first Austrian filling station
Azerbaijan’s SOCAR has opened its first filling station in Austria, the company’s Swiss-based subsidiary SOCAR Energy Holdings has said. The station is situated in the city of Graz in the Eggendberg district. Another SOCAR- brand filling station will open in Graz in late July, according to the company. Over the next few years some 82 A1 filling stations will be rebranded as SOCAR. SOCAR bought them in late 2017.
July 22 2019
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Week 39 02•October•2019