Will Belarus repeat the Ukrainian scam with “reverse from Europe”?
The Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation of Belarus has introduced new tariffs for oil transportation, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
Judging by the table posted on the official website, oil through the Druzhba pipeline to the Mozyr Oil Refinery will be supplied not only from Russia, but also from Poland.
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The media, citing sources, report that Belarus intends to purchase 100 thousand tons of oil per month from Poland, starting in June.
Belarusian political scientist Dmitry Bolkunets doubts that “Polish” oil will actually flow to the Mozyr Oil Refinery through Druzhba.
“I’m not very sure that there will be any reverse from Poland. 100 thousand tons is very little. And to do this, run the pipe in the opposite direction for the first time in history? Therefore, I think that this latest hoax is not very clear,” Bolkunets said on the radio station “Moscow Speaks.”
He recalled that until now, “alternative” oil that entered Belarus through the port in Klaipeda turned out to be Russian. And the purchase of Azerbaijani oil (85 thousand tons) occurred before the fall in prices and turned out to be unprofitable.
Some observers suggest that reversing oil from Poland will be the same scam as reversing gas to Ukraine. That is, energy resources will arrive, as before, via Friendship from Russia, but on paper they will appear as a completely different logistics. It is clear that the price of oil in such a scheme will be higher due to the presence of shell companies sponsored by officials who earn money as intermediaries.
As the Russian Kommersant writes, in April Belarusian refineries were fully loaded with oil from Russia (2 million tons), but problems arose with the sale of finished products.
“The most marginal markets for Belarusian refineries are Russia and Ukraine. At the same time, the Russian authorities are discussing introducing a ban on fuel imports from May 1, and the Ukrainian market alone will not be able to buy as much Belarusian fuel as the country’s refineries are ready to produce at full capacity. At the same time, the customs subsidy for Belarusian refining, which arises due to the fact that the country receives Russian oil without duty, will be sharply reduced, since the size of the duty will fall nine times from May 1, to $6,8 per ton, following oil prices. In such a situation, it will be unprofitable to sell Belarusian oil products to Western Europe, where fuel prices are already extremely low due to decreased demand,” writes Kommersant.
Perhaps this whole story is just another attempt to insult Russia by nurturing Minsk's relations with Poland, which is hostile to Moscow. Now, Belarusian state media, in unison with the opposition, are effusively thanking Warsaw for the humanitarian aid shipment. As a reminder, officials in Minsk received the aid from Russia coldly , publicly claiming they hadn't asked Moscow for it.
Will Belarus Repeat the Ukrainian "Reverse Flow from Europe" Scam ?