Belarus to build new pipeline to deliver oil from Ukraine and Baltics
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has signed an order to build an oil pipeline that will supply oil from Ukrainian and Baltic ports, reported by the press service of the President of Belarus.
"In order to diversify oil supplies to Belarus in 2020-2023, an investment project to build the Gomel-Horki main oil pipeline will be built," the statement said.
The company responsible for the design and construction of the oil pipeline will be Joint Stock Company Gomeltransneft Druzhba. The general design and general contracting organization will be the production association Belorusneft, the state-owned Belarussian energy company.
"The construction of this de facto oil pipeline will connect both Belarusian refineries and will significantly improve the logistics of alternative oil imports by ensuring the flow of oil from the Baltic and Ukrainian ports," said Alexander Tishchenko, a spokesman for Gomeltransneft Druzhba.
The decision to build a new oil pipeline is part of a strategy to diversify oil supplies to Belarus. Construction is expected to be completed by 2023.
In March, Ukrainian state-owned company Ukrtransnafta transported oil to Belarus from Azerbaijan. The oil was delivered through the Odesa-Brody oil pipeline and one of the two lines of Druzhba pipeline.