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Russia-Belarus oil row hits supplies to Germany, Poland
By Sebastian Smith
AFP
MOSCOW
Petroleumworld.com 01 09 06Russian oil exports to Germany and Poland through Belarus were cut Monday in a dispute spotlighting the European Union's vulnerability to tension between Russia and its ex-Soviet neighbours.
Belarussian state television quoted sources at Gomeltransneft Druzhba, which operates the Druzhba pipeline, confirming statements from Germany and Poland that transit of Russian oil had halted.
Moscow said Belarus provoked the disruption by illegally siphoning off Russian oil, but authorities in the ex-Soviet republic said oil was taken as a form of transit payment imposed on January 1 because Moscow had refused to pay.
Belarus's foreign ministry said officials were flying to Moscow on Monday for emergency talks.
In Poland meanwhile, deputy economy minister Piotr Naimski told a press conference that Russia could also be to blame for the halt in exports.
"Problems have also appeared in Ukraine," he said. "If this is the case, the affair also concerns the Russian-Belarus border, and that means the Russian side is participating."
He even suggested Russia could be artificially "withholding" exports to weaken Belarus in their transit fee dispute.
The dispute between the two neighbours and the fallout further down the export line highlighted the EU's dependence on Russia's vast energy supplies and vulnerability to instability on Russia's borders.
The European Commission in Brussels said there was no immediate threat to EU oil supplies.
But German Economy Minister Michael Glos said the incident, which coincided with a rise of world oil prices to 57 dollars per barrel, demonstrated that "one-side dependencies must not be allowed to develop."
The oil row follows a New Year's dispute over a more than doubling of Russian gas prices for Belarus, also prompting fears of a knock-on effect for western Europe.
The latest spat began when Russia imposed new export taxes on oil sold to Belarus where the heavily state-managed economy relies largely on a refining industry based on Russian-subsidised energy imports.
Belarus retaliated against the January 1 tariff by imposing its own transit fee on Russian oil passing westward.
Russia's deputy economic development minister, Andrei Sharonov, said Belarus was "starting to take oil because Russia is not paying the illegally introduced tariff", Echo of Moscow radio reported.
He warned: "One must not forget that Russia is Belarus's main market and number one economic partner. Because of this, we have the possibility to take adequate measures... and obtain a cancellation of the tariff."
However, Belarus insisted that it was acting legitimately and was not at fault for the energy shortfalls in western Europe.
"Belarus was not at fault for the drop in pressure in the Druzhba pipeline," foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Popov said.
"In the morning the Russian side stopped pumping oil through and suggested we take measures to ensure the pipeline's stable work. But it was working, it was stable, we have no reason to blame ourselves and our experts for the halt," Gomeltransneft's director Alexei Kostuchenko said in televised comments.
"The button for the pump which must give oil is currently in Russia, Belarus did not stop the oil and we are ready to resume it," the Belneftehim company's deputy chairman Vladimir Volkov said, adding that "Russia suggested we discuss this with them and soon, I think, the oil passage will resume."
About 100 million tonnes of Russian crude pass through pipelines in Belarus each year on the way west to customers in the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Slovakia, as well as Germany and Poland.
In Hungary, a pressure drop was recorded in lines linked to the Druzhba pipeline Monday, and officials were expecting deliveries to stop overnight.
EU policymakers began debating ways to reduce dependence on Russia for energy supplies last year, following Moscow's cut-off of gas supplies to Ukraine. A quarter of EU gas needs are met by Russia.
Russia has raised eyebrows with its tough negotiating tactics in demanding steep price increases for energy supplied to Moldova, Georgia, and Armenia.
Moscow says it wants to end Soviet-era subsidies to its neighbours, but critics see energy being used as a political weapon to restore Russian dominance abroad.
AFP 08 2125 GMT 01 07
Copyright© 1999 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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