Bel Oil, a Belarusian oil company, concluded a contract with the national Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) on the purchase of 80,000 tons of crude oil for the country’s oil refineries, almost 4 sources told Reuters on February 16, 2017.
This move follows Russia’s decision to cut volumes of oil supplies to Belarus.
As Reuters reports, this is the 1st deal of such kind between the state corporations of the 2 countries.
Bel Oil declined to comment on the matter. NIOC did not respond to query from journalists.
Delivery of black gold will start over the course of the week, through the seaport in the city of Odessa on the Black Sea or through Baltiyskyi town via railway.
According to experts, at the 1st, such deliveries will be cheaper for Belarus, than debt repayment totaling $550 mln for Russian gas.
However, in a short term, Belarus will sustain considerable losses.
Belarus and Russia have been negotiating a reduction in gas prices since early 2016.
Minsk insisted on lowering the price of Russian natural gas from $132 to $73 per 1,000 cubic meters and demanded that Russia switch to equal netback pricing.
In response to underpayment of around $300 mln for Russian gas supplies Moscow cut its tax-free oil supplies to Belarus by more than a 3rd.
