One Of Belarus's Largest Oil Refineries Is Shutting Down For Maintenance
1
Against this backdrop, supplies of Belarusian gasoline and diesel fuel to Russia may decline.
The “Naftan” oil refinery in Novopolotsk is scheduled to undergo routine maintenance in September. Against this backdrop, supplies of Belarusian gasoline and diesel fuel to Russia—which surged this summer due to problems at Russian refineries—may decline, writes "Kommersant" reports, citing sources in the fuel market.
“Naftan” is one of Belarus’s two oil refineries. Its installed capacity, like that of the Mozyr Refinery, is about 12 million metric tons of crude oil per year.
In recent months, Belarusian companies have significantly increased fuel shipments to Russia, where oil refining activity has declined. According to Reuters, in July, Belarus shipped a record 212,000 metric tons of gasoline and 162,000 metric tons of diesel fuel there.
However, in August, shipments began to decline rapidly. According to a source cited by Kommersant, from July 20 to August 12, rail shipments of Belarusian gasoline to Russia totaled about 21,000 metric tons, compared with 165,000 metric tons during the period from June 22 to July 17.
Diesel fuel shipments during this period fell from 115,900 to 8,500 metric tons. According to the publication’s source, Russian market participants have begun purchasing less fuel from Belarus, counting on the resumption of production at their own refineries.
Volumes may decline even further in the fall due to repairs at the “Naftan” refinery. Energy expert Kirill Rodionov believes that the plant’s shutdown will primarily affect those Russian regions that have been actively purchasing fuel from Novopolotsk. This could be particularly noticeable for traders and independent gas stations, since “Naftan” does not have its own network of gas stations in Russia.
According to an estimate by the head of Open Oil Market Sergey Tereshkin, “Naftan” and the Mozyr Refinery together can produce about 3.5 million metric tons of petroleum products per year, of which just over 2 million metric tons are exported. He estimates the export capacity of each facility at approximately 80,000 metric tons per month.
Russia may be able to partially offset the shortfall by importing gasoline from India. In early August, the first 60,000 metric tons of Indian fuel from Nayara Energy were already delivered to Murmansk.
Along with “Naftan,” several major Russian refineries are also scheduled to undergo planned maintenance in September. Attacks on oil refineries remain an additional risk factor for the market.
Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL97116022020000000216711123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims
You can contact us by the e-mail charter97@gmail.com
