Belarus expects to restore supplies of 24 mln tonnes of Russian oil per year

MINSK, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Russia will restore oil supply volumes to the previous level no later than April 13, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko said on Tuesday. "Russia will resume oil supplies to Belarus in the amount of 24 million tonnes per year, which is set by the existing agreement. The volumes will be supplied through 2024," Semashko told the Belarus one TV channel. The official also said Belarus had been released from an obligation to export 1 million tonnes of refined oil products to Russia per year. According to experts, this will help Belarus to earn an additional 150 million U.S. dollars a year. Differing interpretations of the formula for pricing supplies of Russian gas to Belarus gave rise to a non-payment dispute that resulted in Russia reducing crude oil supplies to Belarusian refineries nearly 20 percent to 18.6 million tonnes in 2016.