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Belarus mulls importing crude from Venezuela, Iran via Baltic
Platts
London
Petroleumworld.com 02 23 06
Belarus is planning to use ports on the Baltic Sea coast to import crude
from Venezuela and Iran, Belarus deputy prime minister Vladimir Semashko said
late Wednesday.Since an ugly stand-off at the start of 2007 over oil transit conditions
for Russian crude, Belarus has started studying its options to reduce its
near-total reliance on its giant eastern neighbor for oil supplies."There are plans to use Baltic port terminals to import oil from
Venezuela and Iran to Belarus," Semashko said, according to a government
statement, adding that the plans would only be firmed up once sources of oil
are guaranteed.Semashko said Belarus was currently exploring for oil in both Venezuela
and Iran, and production is expected to begin in three to four years in the
two countries."Then Belarus will need to use the Baltic port terminals and the
restoration of the transport infrastructure, for example, the
Ventspils-Novopolotsk oil pipeline, will start," he said.At present, it is not economical to use the Baltic terminals to import
crude as buying Russian oil, even with an export duty of $53/tonne, is
cheaper than buying oil on the international market, Semashko said.In November, Belarus and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on
cooperation in the oil industry following a visit by Belarus President
Alexander Lukashenko to Tehran to discuss the development of relations between
the two countries.Although no further details were given on the scope of the oil sector
cooperation, the "economic effect" of all the agreements reached on the issues
of trade and economic cooperation were expected to total almost $350 million,
a statement from the president's office said.In July last year, Belarus signed a similar cooperation agreement with
Venezuela. Venezuelan energy minister Rafael Ramirez said the countries were
considering forming a joint venture to produce and refine crude in both
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Platts 22 GMT 02 07
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