Page 18 - FSUOGM Week 36

FSUOGM PROJECTS & COMPANIES FSUOGM

Rosneft denies selling fuel to

North Korea

RUSSIA RUSSIA’S Rosneft on September 3 denied UN sanctions, imposed in response to
reports it was supplying fuel to North Korea Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile tests,
Russian oil companies – activity that could place it on a US sanctions prohibit a wide array of products and commodi-
have been sanctioned blacklist. ties being traded with the hermit state, including
before for suppling fuel Earlier in the week South Korea’s Yonhap petroleum products, oil and coal.
to North Korea. news agency reported that North Korea had Rosneft has reason to be wary of such reports,
increased imports of petroleum products from as Russian companies have been blacklisted
Russia by 16% last year, despite international before for selling oil products to North Korea.
sanctions prohibiting such trade. These products Russia’s Independent Petroleum Co. (IPC),
were supplied by Russian state giants Rosneft owned by businessman and former Rosneft
and Gazprom, the newspaper said. Rosneft alone president Eduard Khudainatov, was placed
shipped $26mn of fuel in 2018 and 2019, while under the US sanctions regime in 2017 for ship-
Gazprom delivered only $100,000, it claimed. ping products worth $1mn from its refinery in
Rosneft dismissed the report as false and said Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East. Those sanc-
it would sue Yonhap for defamation. tions were not lifted until March this year.
“The information provided in this article is Rosneft has a long history of suing news-
not factual and aims to harm the industry mar- papers for libel. Earlier this year it launched a
ket competition. Rosneft does not supply North RUB43bn ($0.6bn) defamation case against
Korea and does not conduct any commercial Russian news agency RBC, over an article that
activity in that country,” the company said in a claimed that one of Rosneft’s security arms had
statement. “Publishing information about Ros- received a stake in its Venezuelan projects, which
neft’s involvement in supplies of oil products to it previously reporting selling. It offloaded its
North Korea is a provocation. The company will Venezuelan operations in the hope of getting US
apply to the court for the protection of its rights sanctions imposed on two subsidiaries caught
and business reputation.” trading Venezuelan oil lifted. ™

$1.2bn hydrocracker at Belarusian

refinery nears finish

BELARUS BELARUS is nearing the completion of a hydro- light fuels such as gasoline and diesel in its out-
gen production plant at the Mozyr oil refinery, put to 70%.
Slavneft describes state-run news agency Belta reported on Sep- The Mozyr plant is one of two oil refineries in
it as its biggest ever tember 7. Belarus. The other one is in Novopolotsk. They
investment at Mozyr. Start-up operations are due to take place in receive crude oil from Russia via the Druzhba
late September at the unit, which forms part of a pipeline system and export refined fuels across
heavy oil hydrocracking complex (H-Oil). Work Europe.
is also almost finished on a sulphur production Russia temporarily cut off oil supplies to Bela-
plant due to be commissioned at the same time. rus at the start of this year because of a dispute
The Mozyr refinery is run by a joint venture over prices. It only restored them to normal lev-
between Belarusian state concerns and Russia’s els several months later, before which Belarus
Slavneft, itself a partnership between Russian was forced to rely on more expensive supplies
oil firms Rosneft and Gazprom Neft. Slavneft from Norway and other sources.
describes H-Oil as its biggest ever investment at This disruption had a knock-on effect on
Mozyr, estimating its price tag at $1.2bn. Belarusian fuel exports – a major earner of rev-
Besides the hydrogen and sulphur units, the enues for the country’s budget. Fuel shipments
complex also comprises an integrated hydro- slumped 42.6% in the first half of the year to
cracker and 21 auxiliary facilities. Once oper- 3.01mn tonnes, according to state statistics.
ational, it will boost the Mozyr plant’s refining Around a third of these supplies went to the
depth to 90% and increase the share of valuable UK.™

P18 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 36 09•September•2020