Belarus suspends export of petroleum products through Lithuania
Belarus stops exporting oil products through the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda, which can be regarded as a politically motivated step.
Oil terminal operator Klaipedos Nafta (KN) informs that the Belarusian exporter of BNK products notified him earlier this week of a planned temporary suspension of export through the outlet. Belarusian oil products can be shipped through KN under the contract until the end of next year, but the latter claims that the fulfillment of contractual obligations is suspended "for an indefinite period."
KN Commercial Director Mindaugas Navikas said on December 15 that "the client's decisions can be dictated not by economic logic, but by political logic that we cannot control." According to Navikas, from an economic point of view, the terminal in Klaipeda is “the most attractive for the export of ... Belarusian oil products.”
Belarus considered the possibility of switching product supplies to Russian ports from Klaipeda due to Vilnius's support for the Belarusian opposition movement. In September, Belarus and Russia announced that they were working on the transportation of Belarusian oil products through Russian Baltic ports, but, according to market participants, this option is $ 10-15 per ton more expensive than using ports in the Baltic countries.
According to KN, some of the products are still on their way to the Lithuanian terminal from Belarus. A source in BNK said that already sold oil products will be delivered through Klaipeda, but the rest of the shipments will go through other Baltic ports.
At the end of August, President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko announced a possible reorientation of trade flows from the Baltic ports to others.
CJSC Belarusian Oil Company is a leading exporter of oil products from Belarus. The company's shareholders are the largest oil production and oil refining enterprises in the Republic of Belarus.