What Is Behind Mazyr Oil Refinery Shutdown?

The workers have come up with a serious question.

On March 29, it became known that the Mazyr oil refinery was preparing for a major repair campaign, during which almost all production facilities would be stopped.

The stoppage of one of the main sources of filling the Lukashists' budget, such as oil refining, can be explained by the sanctions imposed earlier. However, the shutdown of the Mazyr Oil Refinery raises many questions, especially among the workers: is it connected with the war, in which Lukashenka is more and more involved?

I managed to communicate with some employees from Mazyr. I asked them: is there really a serious and major breakdown at the enterprise that prevents it from working normally?

The last overhaul at the plant was carried out in June 2021, although it was supposed to begin in May. The delay in the start of repair work was associated with rumors that Naftan would receive only 50,000 tons of oil in May. Simultaneous underloading of Naftan and the shutdown of the Mazyr Oil Refinery for repairs threatened to disrupt fuel supply at Belarusian filling stations.

According to the workers, more than half of the main technological capacities of the plant were withdrawn during the 2021 renovation. They partially replaced the main technological pipelines, capacitive and heat exchange equipment. The repair was serious, it was carried out almost around the clock.

Then, due to the tightening of sanctions against the Lukashenka regime, all refineries in Belarus worked at half capacity. In 2022, the Belarusian authorities lost two main markets: due to sanctions — the European one, due to complicity in the war — the Ukrainian one.

It is worth explaining that the supply of Belarusian gasoline to Ukraine in 2021 increased by 17%, to 1 million tons. Ukraine also bought bitumen, which is produced at the same refinery. Therefore, the Ukrainian market accounted for 57% of the imports of the enterprise from Mazyr.

After the outbreak of the war, the Mazyr Oil Refinery began to process 13.7 thousand tons of oil per day. For comparison, in 2020, more than 8.99 million tons of hydrocarbon raw materials were processed in Mazyr, that is, approximately 24-25 thousand tons per day. It turns out that the load immediately fell by 2 times.

Then the Lukashists partially managed to find a way out in order to stir up the half-dead production a little. The Russian Federation helped in this: for the sake of the only active ally, the companies of the industry close to the Kremlin were ready, on instructions from above, to give way to Belarusian oil products. And this is despite the fact that Russian refineries themselves are able to provide their consumers.

Sanctions are also circumvented with the help of Asian and African countries, where both Belarusian and Russian companies have begun to work very actively.

In addition, refineries have begun to work more actively with petrochemicals, which are not subject to sanctions. Selling it is much easier, especially if you create a “new company” that will become a formal exporter.

Considering all the factors, the shutdown for an overhaul of the entire production becomes surprising. Firstly, not so long ago, half of the plant was renovated. Secondly, there was the construction and commissioning of the $1.5 billion H-Oil complex hydrocracking combined unit, which, according to appointees at the enterprise, became “the most powerful facility in history.”

A serious question is brewing among the workers: is the shutdown of the entire enterprise related to the full participation of Belarus in the brutal war unleashed by the Russian Federation? After all, the plant is located at a fairly close distance from the border, and given the assistance of the Belarusian regime to the occupiers, it becomes a legitimate target for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Artsiom Chernikau, especially for the Basta! Telegram channel