Page 21 - BELRptJune18

9.0 Industry & Sectors 9.1 Sector news
9.1.1 Oil & gas sector news
The Belarusian government is going to restart Minsk-Moscow negotiations on the price for natural gas , Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vladimir Semashko told reporters on 29 May. "We should enter a new stage of the negotiations now in order to determine the pricing formula for creating a common Eurasian electricity market and a common oil and gas market," BELTA news agency quoted Semashko as saying. Oil and gas prices have been a source of tension between the allies and Belarus and Russia have been negotiating on the price the gas price for 20 years - Minsk is seeking to secure long-term intergovernmental agreements with the aim of obtaining Russian natural gas at the same prices the Russian consumer pays, while Moscow points out it is giving huge energy subsidies to Belarus already. In 2017, Russia was demanding that Belarus repay around $550mn for natural gas previously supplied by the state-controlled company Gazprom. Minsk bought Russian gas for $132 per 1,000 cubic metres, but it unilaterally lowered the price to under $80, saying this was a fair price trigging a debt row. According to Semashko, the 2018 price for Russian gas stands at $129 per 1,000 cubic metres, while next year it will be $127.
Belarus is going to export up to 1mn tonnes of oil products via Russian ports in 2018 , deputy head of the nation's state conglomerate Belneftekhim Andrei Rybakov told journalists on May 29. He said that in sales, the Belarusian oil products company "always considers this route," however; the decision is ultimately made by the buyer. Rybakov said that "there is a positive dynamic" in January-March - around 50,000 tonnes of oil products have already been exported via Russian ports, according to Interfax news agency. The move followed growing Moscow's pressure on Minsk over the transportation of Belarusian petroleum products via Russian seaports. In 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the government in Moscow to create conditions for the supply of Belarus-made petroleum products to customers abroad using Russian seaports. Currently, Belarusian oil refineries exclusively receive Russian crude that are processed in Belarus’s two modern refineries. In 2017, the two countries reached long-term agreements on oil deliveries of 24mn tonnes per year to Belarus through 2024. Belarus will keep 18mn tonnes out of 24mn tonnes for processing at its two state-controlled refineries in Belarus: Naftan and Mozyr Oil Refinery. The agreements followed a months-long dispute between Minsk and Russia's natural gas giant Gazprom, which also hit Moscow's oil supplies to Belarus. Since mid-2016, Russia supplied 40% less oil to Belarus. According to Minsk, Russian crude oil supplies to Belarus in 2016 declined by 20.8% year-on-year to 18.1mn tonnes.
9.1.7 TMT sector news
Belarus' export of telecommunication services have doubled over the past five years , Chairman of the Belarusian Stat Science and Technology Committee Alexander Shumilin said at the opening ceremony of the 2nd Belarusian ICT Summit on 16 May, BelTA reports. “Today the volume of
21 BELARUS Country Report June 2018 www.intellinews.com