Page 26 - BELRptAug18

9.0 Industry & Sectors 9.1 Sector news
9.1.1 Oil & gas sector news
Belarus has turned into a huge exporter of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) - or propane and butane - to neighbouring Ukraine and Poland , being a trade mediator between Russia and these nations, Reuters reported on June 10. In 2018, Belarus became the leader in Russian LPG rail import, but the growth in supply is triggered not by a steep surge in domestic demand, but by profit from LPG re-export to customers beyond the boundaries of the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Until 2017 Belarus was ranked fourth in the business - behind Poland, Ukraine and Finland – in LPG supplies from Russia. Last year, LPG exports from Belarus grew to 637,000 tonnes from 436,000 tonnes in 2016, according to the local statistics service. At the same time, domestic demand stayed almost unchanged at 145,000 tonnes last year, Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI) figures showed. Russia raised LPG rail exports to Belarus to a record high in May 2018, outpacing Poland which is the main consumer of Russian LPG, according to traders’ data and statistics. Rail LPG shipments from Russia to Belarus in May 2018 amounted to 107,375 tonnes compared to 86,220 tonnes shipped to Poland, while Russia delivered 44,998 tonnes to Belarus on June 1-18 and 43,738 tonnes to Poland. LPG rail exports from Russia to Belarus in the second half of 2017 grew by 60% to 56,000 tonnes per month compared to the first half of the same year when it was 35,000 tonnes. Deliveries grew by 41% to 79,000 tonnes per month, statistics showed. In comparison, average monthly LPG exports from Russia to Belarus in 2015-2016 were about 20,000 tonnes, according to Reuters. Belarusian LPG volumes transported to Belarus are stored at Belarus dispensing stations and then re-exported to Ukraine, Poland and other countries in Eastern Europe.
9.1.2 Automotive sector news
China is interested in expanding its growing automotive production hub in Belarus by adding electric cars assembly at the BelGee joint venture factory in Belarus, the nation’s deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko said in televised interview, state news agency BELTA reported on June 4.
In November, BelGee, a Belarus-China joint venture that assembles Geely cars near Borisov in the Minsk region, launched its new unit with an annual output capacity of up to 60,000 Geely cars. The new plant will be equipped to assemble CKD (complete knock-down) kits. BelGee currently uses SKD (semi-knock-down) kits.
The company, which was set up in December 2011, currently assembles 10,000 cars per year. In 2016, BelGee increased sales by 12.3% year-on-year to 5,721 vehicles.
"While electricity seems pricy, charging an electric car is 4-5-times cheaper
26 BELARUS Country Report August 2018 www.intellinews.com