ASTANA - A customs union that came into existence at of the beginning of the year is expected to facilitate the movement of goods and people within a space that includes three Republics – Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus. It is also expected to be a union of three like-minded partners who would not use the new opportunities against one another to drive a wedge between them. According to the Belarus information agency BELTA, the ambassador of Kazakhstan to Belarus, Analoly Smirnov, said at a recent press-conference in Minsk that Kazakhstan was ready to supply the necessary amounts of crude to the Belarus oil refineries.
The diplomat noted that with the creation of the Customs Union, Kazakhstan was receiving new opportunities to transport its crude oil to Belarussian refineries for processing and subsequent sales to the European Union. “Nobody gave up on this idea, and it was reflected in all of the Belarus-Kazakhstan documents. In particular, it was discussed during the mutual visits of the prime-ministers of the two countries and at the presidential talks,” BELTA quoted him as saying. The ambassador emphasized that high transport tariffs had hampered the solution of this problem before and that they would be removed with the creation of the Customs Union.
Smirnov also said that cooperation between Belarus and Kazakhstan in the oil sector was included in the Belarus-Kazakhstan Road Map of Trade and Economic Cooperation and in a resolution of the intergovernmental trade and economic commission. As is known, the commission co-chairs are responsible for the implementation of the Road Map. In Belarus, it is a vice-premier, and in Kazakhstan, the Minister for Extraordinary Situations. They will provide regular reports to the presidents of the two countries on the progress of the mutual projects. “Therefore, I believe that such an important question as transport of oil will be resolved, too. The capacities of the Belarus refineries will be filled with Kazakhstan oil,” the ambassador said.
The capacities of the two Belarus refineries are two times greater than that of the three Kazakhstan refineries. For comparison, last year Kazakhstan refineries processed about 12.5 million tons of crude oil while their Belarus colleagues did 25 million.
It is not a big deal for Kazakhstan to saturate another couple of refineries with crude oil considering that last year’s production of oil in the republic totaled 76.5 million tons, 68 million of which went for export. However, there are two “buts” in the question of supplies of Kazakhstan crude to the Belarus refineries. First, traditionally, Belarussian refineries were the patrimony of the Russian oil companies. The bulk of the crude was provided from Russia, which is logical, as it was closer and cheaper to receive oil supplies from a neighborly country. Second, Russia and Belarus are currently facing issues in connection with the payments for the crude delivered. Clearly, Kazakhstan, as Russia’s competitor in this case, provides better opportunities for Belarus.
“Remember a well-known saying from a popular film ‘It is important that our desires met with our capabilities,’” the Managing Director of processing and marketing of oil of KazMunaiGas, Daniyar Tiesov, told New Europe when asked how realistic such a scenario might be.
He said that the question of the Belarussian refineries’ dependence on Russian oil was still a reality and will continue to be so in the near or distant future. Therefore, he said that “there is a lot of work between the desired and the real.” However, Tiesov confirmed that it was theoretically possible to supply Kazakhstan crude to the Belarus refineries. However, according to the analysts, for a positive decision on that, detailed studies and calculations are required. “We must protect our interests, and we should look at this question through the prism of economics, i.e. pragmatically. If it proves to be profitable and of interest to us, it is quite possible that we will come to those refineries,” he told New Europe, adding that so far “We have not discussed this question with the Belarus colleagues in detail.”