Belarus and Ukraine have agreed terms for the rail transit of Venezuelan oil, the head of Belarus Railways said on Thursday. Venezuelan oil is currently delivered by tankers to the Ukrainian port of Odessa and transported by railroad through Ukraine to Belarus. “A Belarusian-Ukrainian intergovernmental agreement in accordance with which Venezuelan oil will be transported via Belarusian and Ukrainian territories on through rates was recently concluded,” Anatoly Sivak said. Belarus will pay Ukraine $0.27 to transport one ton of oil per 10 kilometers, Sivak said.
Belarus and Venezuela launched a joint venture to organize the delivery of Venezuelan oil to Belarus in mid-July. Minsk and Caracas agreed on the supplies of Venezuelan oil to Belarus in March, shortly after Belarus's brief dispute over oil supplies with Russia. Belarus, which has few hydrocarbon resources and depends on fuel supplies from Russia, plans to buy 4 million metric tons of Venezuelan oil in 2010 and 10 million metric tons in 2011.
