Kazakhstan, Belarus still considering oil supply draft agreement

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan – The beginning of possible deliveries of Kazakh oil to Belarus is expected after an agreement between the two countries enters into force, Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry said on January 20.
“It’s first necessary to sign and ratify the agreement between the governments of Kazakhstan and Belarus on these supplies. Secondly, a commercial interest is needed for the companies that are supplying Kazakh oil and oil products to Belarus,” the ministry added after a meeting between Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Nurlan Nogayev, Anatoly Nichkasov, Belarus’ Ambassador to Nur-Sultan, and vice-president of the Belarusian State Concern for Oil and Chemistry, or Belneftekhim, Andrey Bunakov.
According to the Kazakh energy ministry, the draft agreement is still being considered by the Central Asian energy giant’s state bodies. The ministry has indicated that the most likely option at this point would be the supply by pipelines. However, if the turnover of multimodal deliveries end up being unprofitable, the supply of pipelines would also be possible.