Russia refuses to sign oil supplies agreement

The agreement on oil supplies to Belarus for the third quarter of the year remains unsigned.

A source in a relative Belarusian agency says that the Ministry of Energy of Russia refused to have talks on the issue, Interfax news agency reports.

“Despite their previous statements (on the readiness to sign the oil supplies agreement for Q3 by June 15), the oil balance for the third quarter of the year remains unsigned. The Ministry of Energy of Russia says they don't have instructions from their government to hold talk on the issue with Belarusians,” the source said.

According to him, in the current situation Belarus “will make further attempts to initiate the talks”. Belarus imports oil under the oil supplies memorandum for the second quarter on shipping 5,75mn tonnes. The same amount was delivered in the first quarter.

Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said on May 20 that the agreement on oil supplies to Belarus for Q3 should be signed by June 15. First deputy PM of Belarus Uladzimir Siamashka said earlier he expected the oil agreements for the third and fourth quarters of 2013 to be signed in the nearest time basing on Belarus's annual demand for 23mn tonnes.

“There are all conditions to sign the agreements for the third and fourth quarters in the nearest times. We count on deliveries of 23 million tonnes per year,” Siamashka said. He underlined Belarus strictly fulfilled the country's obligations on deliveries of oil products to Russia and giving access to Russian companies to work at Belarusian oil refineries. According to Siamashka, Belarus supplied to Russia 561,000 tonnes of high-quality fuel for four months of 2013, which allowed to keep the retail fuel prices in Russia in April-May 2013 on the level of the February-March prices. Besides, Russian companies processed up to 40% of oil at Belarusian refineries in April-May 2013 in comparison with 28% in 2012.

According to earlier reports, Belarus didn't sign the annual indicative oil supplies agreement for 2013. Belarus wants to import 23 million tonnes of oil this year.

The talks on a possible signing of the oil supplies agreement for the rest of the year are being held alongside with the discussion of terms and conditions of implementing five so called integration projects, which suppose privatisation of a number of big Belarusian enterprises or setting up holding companies with relative Russian companies.