Russian state oil pipeline operator Transneft has approved a
plan for the construction of an oil export pipeline bypassing
Belarus, the head of the company said on Monday.
"We have made a decision and will develop the Baltic Pipeline
System from Unecha (on the border with Belarus) to the port of
Primorsk" on the Baltic Sea, Transneft President Semyon Vainshtok
was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.
The new pipeline, which will be an expansion of the Baltic
Pipeline System, will run 1,000 kilometers and be capable of
handling 50 million tons of oil a year. The cost is estimated at
US$2.5 billion.
Roughly one third of Russian oil exports is piped through
Belarus. Last year, some 80 million tons of Russian crude were
shipped via the country to European destinations.
A pricing dispute between the two countries resulted in a brief
suspension of oil flow to Belarus and Europe at the start of the
year.
The crisis ended on Jan. 12 with a deal in which Russia agreed
to cut the duty on oil exports to Belarus, while Minsk promised to
share with Moscow a substantial amount of the profits from the
refined oil products it sells to Europe.
(Xinhua News Agency February 6, 2007)
