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Government decides to try new route for Venezuelan oil

The fifth shipment of Venezuelan crude oil for Belarus will be brought by a tanker to the Estonian seaport of Muuga and then it will be delivered to the Naftan oil refinery in Navapalotask by rail, said the press office of Belarusian Railroads, as quoted by BelaPAN.

Formerly, Venezuelan oil was delivered to Ukraine's Odessa seaport and then carried to the refinery in Mazyr by rail.

The first tanker laden with an 80,000-ton shipment of Venezuelan oil arrived at the Odessa port on April 25, the second one on June 19, the third on June 29, and the fourth is expected to arrive at the Odessa port on July 17. According to the Belarusian Railroads press office, the rail route from Estonia will be shorter than that from Ukraine, as there is a distance of 850 kilometers (528 miles) between Muuga and Navapolatsk compared with 1,051 kilometers (653 miles) between Odessa and Mazyr.

It is unknown whether Venezuelan oil will continue to be delivered via Estonia. This issue is currently discussed, the press office said. Also under discussion are Estonia’s rail rate.

A contract was signed in Caracas on March 17 for Venezuela to supply up to four million tons of oil to Belarus before the end of the year.

Although the first tankers laden with Venezuelan oil have already arrived, it is necessary to work faster for the Venezuelan oil deliveries to total four million tons this year, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said during a June 28 government conference. The deliveries should increase to 10 million tons in 2011, he said, adding that talks were also underway with other oil-producing countries.

An agreement has been reached for a total of 10 million tons of crude oil to be supplied to Belarus in 2011, Venezuelan Ambassador Americo Diaz Nunez told reporters in Minsk on June 30. It is up to the Belarusian government to decide to which seaport Venezuelan oil shipments should be delivered, he noted.

The ambassador refused to say how much Venezuelan oil costs Belarus. “This is a commercial secret that will eventually be brought into the open,” he said.

“Oil deliveries on favorable conditions are a gesture of solidarity and support for the Belarusian people,” he added.