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An oil refinery in Plock, Poland, is seen in this
undated handout photo. Oil supplies to Poland and Germany via Russia's
giant Druzhba pipeline were stopped overnight due to problems connected
with a trade dispute between Russia and Belarus, Polish officials said on
January 8, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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MOSCOW, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Transit shipments of
Russian oil supplies to Poland, Germany and Ukraine through Belarus were stopped
over the weekend, the Interfax news agency reported on Monday, but the European
Union (EU) said the bloc faced "no immediate risk" of energy
shortage.
The Druzhba pipeline "is not
pumping oil in the direction of Poland, Germany and Ukraine under orders from
Belneftekhim," a spokesman for Belarus' pipeline operator Belneftekhim was
quoted as saying.
Poland and Germany confirmed the stoppage of Russian
oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline.
EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said on Monday
the disruption of oil supplies from Russia posed "no immediate risk" to energy
supplies in the bloc. Piebalgs said he had asked Russian and Belarussian
authorities to give an explanation.
Belarus and Russia came to loggerheads over oil
transit after the two countries resolved a trade dispute over natural gas.
Moscow has imposed export duties on crude oil supplied to Belarus while Minsk
has slapped a new customs duty on Russian oil transiting through Belarus.
Semyon Vainshtok, chief of Russian pipeline operator
Transneft, on Monday accused Belarus of siphoning off Russian oil meant for
consumers in western Europe.
"On Jan. 6, the Belarussian side, without warning
anyone, unilaterally started illegal oil tapping from the Druzhba pipeline,"
which amounted to over 79,000 tons of Russian oil, Interfax quoted Vainshtok as
saying.
Vainshtok urged Belarus to ensure transit deliveries
of Russian oil to western Europe.
The stoppage came just over a week after Belarus
agreed to pay more than double the previous price for Russian gas supplies this
year.
Under a deal with Russian gas giant Gazprom, Belarus
would buy Russian gas at 100 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic meters in 2007.
Gazprom agreed to pay more for gas transit through Belarus to Europe. Belarus
bought gas from Russia at 46.7 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters in 2006.
Russia provides about a quarter of the oil and gas
consumed in the EU, some of which are piped through Belarus, mainly to Poland,
Germany and Lithuania.
Related:
MOSCOW, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Azerbaijani oil supplies via Russia to Europe have been halted for more than a week in an energy price row with Russia, Azerbaijan's state-owned oil company SOCAR said on Monday.
The dispute flared up after Russian state gas firm Gazprom increased the cost of its gas exports to Azerbaijan to 235 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic meters from last year's price of 110 dollars.
Russian oil supply to Slovakia, Czech
halted
PRAGUE, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The oil supply delivered from
Russia through the Friendship pipeline via Belarus to Slovakia and the Czech
Republic stopped on Monday evening due to a price dispute between Russia and
Belarus.
The stoppage occurred at around 08:00 p.m. (1800
GMT), Slovakia's transpetrol company Stefan Czucz said.
Russian oil supplies to Poland
disrupted
WARSAW, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- A dispute between Russia and
Belarus over transit fees is causing disruption to oil deliveries from Russia to
Poland, the Economics Ministry said Monday.
Russian oil supplies are delivered to Poland through
the Przyjazn pipeline that crosses Belarus.
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