Belarus Practically Zeroes Out Import Of Oil Products From Russia In November

The share of the Russian Federation accounts for 95.8% of Belarusian imports of oil products.

Belarus in November 2018 imported about 35 thousand tons of oil products from Russia compared to 100 thousand tons in October, 106 thousand tons in September and 140 thousand tons in August, according to Belstat, Interfax reports.

The import of oil products from Russia fell since July after the Russian side initiated restrictions on the supply of petroleum products to Belarus. In the first half of the year, the average monthly import of oil products from the Russian Federation was 352 thousand tons, in the first half of the year there was an increase in deliveries in physical terms by 1.4 times.

According to the results of January-November 2018, the dynamics of imports of oil products from the Russian Federation in the reporting period turned into negative. In general, over 11 months, the import of petroleum products from the Russian Federation amounted to 2.74 million tons, which is 6.3% less compared to the same period in 2017.

In value terms, the imports of oil products from Russia for 11 months amounted to $ 1.09 billion, which is an increase of 15.4% due to an increase in the average price of imports by 23.1% to $ 396.5 per ton.

The share of the Russian Federation accounts for 95.8% of Belarusian imports of oil products.

Oil deliveries from the Russian Federation are carried out in accordance with the agreed volume, which in 2018 provides for the supply of 18 million tons to Belarus for processing.

In January-November 2018, oil imports amounted to 16.7 million tons, which is 0.9% more than in January-November 2017. In value terms, oil imports increased by 33.8% to $ 6.39 billion due to an increase in the average price of imports by 32.6% to $ 382.9 per ton.

The import of the Russian natural gas has grown in 11 months by 6.8% to 18.3 billion cubic meters. According to the National Statistics Committee, the price of gas imports decreased by 9.4% - to $ 132.4 per 1 thousand cubic meters. In value terms, gas imports amounted to $ 2.42 billion (a decrease of 3.2% is recorded).

As it was reported, Russia announced the limitation of duty-free deliveries of oil products to Belarus from the fourth quarter of 2018, citing the loss of the Russian budget due to possible re-export of oil products from the territory of Belarus. Within the framework of the new agreements, a de facto ban is imposed on duty-free deliveries of all oil products from the Russian Federation to Belarus, with the exception of certain petrochemical products that are not produced in the republic.

The indicative balance of oil supply has not changed.

In accordance with the intergovernmental agreements of April 2017, Belarus de jure can import 24 million tons of oil from Russia per year. At the same time, de facto Minsk imports 18 million tons of oil for processing. The parties agreed that export duties on the remaining 6 million tons will be sent to the Belarusian budget. In Minsk, this scheme is called “customs re-clearance”.