OREANDA-NEWS  Gomeltransnafta Druzhba, the Belarusian operator of the Druzhba oil pipeline, appealed to Transneft with a proposal to increase the tariff for pumping oil by 84% to the current level from July 1, the Kommersant newspaper writes with reference to the company's letter.

As indicated in the letter, a copy of which the newspaper has, the tariff increase will ensure the break-even operation of the company in 2023 and preserve the possibility of further development for it. In Transneft, RIA Novosti confirmed receipt of a letter from the Belarusian operator, without giving details.

As an argument, the Belarusian side reports that this year, due to sanctions from Europe, the supply of Russian oil through the territory of Belarus has significantly decreased. In particular, cargo turnover for the first three months of 2023 in transit directions was 38.6% lower than the level announced by Transneft during the planned revision of tariffs, and in the direction of Poland and Germany - by 55.2%.

As indicated in the letter of Gomeltransnafta Druzhba, the decrease in cargo turnover leads to the loss of the company: according to the results of the first quarter, the loss amounted to 329 million rubles, and according to the results of the first half of the year it may grow to 1.26 billion rubles. At the same time, the company is trying to increase efficiency by repeatedly increasing tariffs for domestic oil transportation to Belarusian refineries and optimizing the number of employees.

The Druzhba oil pipeline runs through Russia to the Belarusian Mozyr, and in Belarus it branches into two threads: the northern one goes towards Poland and Germany, and the southern one goes through Ukraine to the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Croatia. According to Kommersant's sources, the tariff increase is expected in both directions.