Moscow and Minsk have settled questions about the cost of Russian oil and gas exports from our country into the Federal Republic. According to the Belarusian Ambassador in Russia Vladimir Semashko, the understanding of the fuel issues was reached at the last talks between energy Ministers and heads of major energy companies of both countries. Meanwhile, the Russia-Belarus energy dispute is far from over: despite the assurances of friendly relations, Minsk continues to insist on discounts on Russian oil and gas and trying to find alternative energy supply routes.
Understanding the formation of gas prices are actually achieved. As stated Semashko, Russia and Belarus demonstrate the understanding and need to “move towards a single gas market”. However for final confirmation of the cost of energy will require more than one stage of the negotiations — the price that satisfies both parties, must be agreed before 1 January 2022. Regarding Russian oil supplies to the Belarusian market agreement has yet been reached, however, and the harmonization of export of “black gold” in the Federal Republic, according to Semashko, also promise to be resolved in the near future.
Russian oil Supplies to Belarus are Minsk serious support to Supplement the income of the Federal budget. Not having its own sources of energy, the Federal Republic buys Russian “black gold”, then it processes and exports to the West, earning on the difference in value of crude and finished fuel. Purchasing in Russia annually to 24 million tons of oil and spending less than $7 billion, Belarusian companies sold gasoline and fuel oil is twice as expensive, and their turnover in trading operations with oil products goes up to $13 billion a year.
since 2000, the Minsk has imported Russian oil at a discount of 17%, which was a good subsidy for the Belarusian economy. In 2017, the two countries signed an agreement allowing Belarus to 2024 to obtain raw materials at preferential prices. In addition, the Minsk began to pick up in his Treasury in export duties from the “Peremogi” — a complex tax scheme that allows you to collect fiscal charging raw material suppliers are not exporters, and importers of hydrocarbons.
After the so-called tax maneuver, which Russia started in 2019, implying a gradual zeroing of export duties on oil and increase tax on extraction of mineral resources, subsidizing the Belarusian Treasury stopped. Which forced Minsk to Express publicly their dissatisfaction with Moscow and to seek the replacement of Russian “black gold”. “Belarus has managed to buy a separate batch of raw materials from AZ��of rbaijan, Saudi Arabia, Norway and the USA. However, any alternative oil for Minsk because of the logistics will be more expensive than Russian hydrocarbons,” — says senior analyst “Alpari Eurasia” Vadim Iosub.
With the export of Russian natural gas in Belarus the situation is much more complicated. The supply of “blue fuel” in the Federal Republic occur at the prices of contract agreements, which amount to $127 per thousand cubic meters. “At European hubs and exchanges gas is cheaper. In any case, the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has reason to say that the value of Russian “blue fuel” should be reduced to $40-50 per thousand cubic meters, as it is sold in Germany. Will it help Minsk — is not entirely clear. The fact that Gazprom will resume deliveries to Belarusian consumers only in case of payment of the debt to approximately $150-160 million for the previous exports. Meanwhile, the cumulative debt of the enterprises of “Belneftekhim” on Bank loans now exceed $2 billion, according to the Deputy CEO Svetlana Gurina. “Credit obligations to European financial institutions Belarusians will have to pay immediately, otherwise next time will not provide a loan. And with the repayment of debts to Russia, Belarus will have to wait. Probably in the hope that, as before, Moscow will agree to provide Minsk with preferences for payments for oil and gas” — the analyst CC “Finam” Sergey Drozdov.
