MINSK, 30 July (BelTA) – The first train with Venezuelan oil is expected to arrive at the Belarusian oil refinery Naftan in the evening of 31 July, Naftan Deputy Director General Nikolai Kolbasenko told BelTA. Oil will be delivered in several phases within several days. Preparations are in progress to discharge oil into special containers. BelTA reported earlier that another batch of Venezuelan oil as large as 80,000 tonnes will be delivered to Belarus via Estonia. Delivered by the fifth tanker to an Estonian sea port and then shipped to Belarus by railroad, the oil will be processed by Naftan. Mozyr Oil Refinery received previous batches of Venezuelan oil, which were delivered via the Odessa port. According to Belarusian Railways, 22-23 trains are used to deliver Venezuelan oil. The delivery time from Estonia to Belarus will be shorter than that from Ukraine to Belarus. While the distance between Odessa and Mozyr is about 1,050km, the distance between the Estonian port Muuga and Novopolotsk is 850km. Nikolai Kolbasenko also said within the next few months the company is supposed to get another batch of oil from Venezuela via Estonia. The agreement on supplying Venezuelan oil to Belarus was signed in March 2010. Within 12 months Belarus is supposed to get around 4 million tonnes of Venezuelan oil. The Novopolotsk-based oil refinery Naftan was commissioned in 1963. It is part of the Belarusian petrochemical state-run concern Belneftekhim. The company specializes in fuels and oils, offering over 70 titles, including oils, petrols, Euro-4 and Euro-5 compliant diesel fuel. The company sells around 70% of the output to the CIS states, the European Union, Middle East and the USA. In late 2008 the petrochemical company Polymir was merged with Naftan to create a petrochemical alliance.

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