SOCAR Trading signs long-term contract for oil supplies to Belarus

SOCAR Trading, a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), has signed a long-term contract with the Belarusian Oil Company (BNK) for the supply of Azerbaijani oil, as well as potentially other types of oil to Belarusian refineries.

According to Report, the contract was signed for one year with the possibility of an extension in the future.

By 2020, SOCAR Trading has already supplied one million tons of Azeri Light and other types of oil to Belarus. According to the data, in 2021, the volume of oil supplies to refineries in Belarus may be the same or more.

SOCAR Trading supplies oil to more than 100 refineries around the world and is available in all major international markets. Today, SOCAR Trading is one of the largest trading companies and most of the oil it sells is not produced in Azerbaijan.

Belarus diversifies its purchases of raw materials for the two refineries amid periodic disputes over oil prices with Russia, its main and traditional supplier. Belarus, which continues to receive Russian oil via the Druzhba main oil pipeline and railway, works on alternative supply routes to transport raw materials to these factories. Oil is supplied by sea through the ports of Klaipeda and Odessa. Oil supplies from Odessa port are delivered via the Odessa-Brody main oil pipeline and then to the Mozyr refinery, one of the lines of the Druzhba pipeline, and from the port of Klaipeda via Naftan to Novopolotsk.