Belarus' purchase of Norwegian oil is hysterical
Belarus was not preparing for an “oil war” with Russia, unlike Ukraine, which, before posing a gas challenge to the Kremlin, pumped underground storage facilities to capacity. Everything suggests that President Lukashenko acted spontaneously, since Moscow suddenly showed intransigence.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes about this today, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
By the beginning of the year, the Belarusian oil industry arrived with half-empty “tanks”: there were reserves of oil and fuels and lubricants for a maximum of 30 days.
“The rule has long been in force abroad: the minimum current supply of oil and petroleum products must cover the needs for them for 90 days,” said Andrei Porotnikov, head of the BelarusSecurityBlog project.
Belarus did not have not only contracts with alternative suppliers, but even their elementary elaboration. They didn't send out offers until mid-January.
Lukashenko’s statement that Russia does not allow Belarus to pump Kazakh oil is also an obvious blackmail. Neither Kazakh nor Azerbaijani oil is simply suitable for Belarusian refineries.
Financial analyst Mikhail Grachev reminds that Belarusian refineries can only work with the North Sea grade of oil supplied by Norway and Russian Urals, which are similar in their characteristics. Therefore, “our government’s choice of alternative supplies is not that great,” the expert summarizes.
Let us recall that Belarus purchased only 80 thousand tons of oil from Norway. This volume is enough for 3 days of operation of only one Belarusian plant. And if you consider that the price per ton of Norwegian oil is $130 higher than the price of Russian energy, this purchase is also demonstratively hysterical.
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