Belarus intends to almost double oil transit fees via Druzhba

Belarus, which has lost income from the transit of Russian oil through the northern branch of the Druzhba oil pipeline due to sanctions, wants to compensate for the losses. The operator of the Belarusian section of the Gomeltransnafta Druzhba oil pipeline turned to Transneft with a proposal to increase tariffs for oil transit through the northern and southern branches by 84% from July, reports Kommersant with reference to the letter of the Belarusian operator.

The publication notes that if the proposal is agreed, supplies will rise in price not only for Germany and Poland, which receive only Kazakhstani oil via the northern branch, but also for the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, which are supplied with Russian oil via the southern branch. After such a step by Minsk, it can be expected that these countries will start looking for alternative sources of raw materials, since it will become unprofitable for Kazakhstan to transport its oil, and for southeast Europe to receive sharply risen in price black gold.



According to the publication, in the first quarter, traffic through Druzhba fell 4,7 times, in the direction of Germany and Poland - 12,1 times year on year. At the end of 2023, the fall will be 45,9%. "Gomeltransnafta Druzhba" received a loss of 329 million rubles in the first quarter, for the first half of the year it can grow to 1,26 billion rubles. The break-even operation of the company at the end of the year should be ensured by the increase in tariffs, the operator explained.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported that the EU authorities are considering a proposal to suspend oil transportation via the Druzhba pipeline to European countries. First of all, they plan to deprive Poland and Germany of raw materials from the pipeline. As an exception, the EU will allow supplies on the southern branch of the Friendship.