Ventspils seeks to usurp the Belarusian fertilizers and petroleum

Ventspils port seeks to attract as many Belarusian goods as possible.

The publication “Biznes&Baltija” has announced about the creation of a joint transit company, which will transport the Venezuelan oil from Latvia to Belarus.

Spokesman for the Belarusian oil company “Oil Logistics Ltd.” Vladimir Demidov has confirmed that negotiations on the Venezuelan oil transit through the Ventspils port, using a pipeline between Ventspils and Polotsk, are under way. The pipeline is currently unused.

CEO of Novopolock Oil Refinery “Naftan” Vyacheslav Yakushev argued that the most cost-effective means of oil import is via the pipeline to Ventspils port.

Belarus’ Minister of Transport Ivan Shcherbo said that if Belarus brought 10 million tons of oil per year, the cheapest and most convenient way to do so would be through the Ventspils port and oil pipeline.

One of the major shareholders of Ventspils oil handling company “Ventspils Nafta” made Belarausians reluctant in choosing to transport oil through Ventspils port alone.
Belarusians are critical of “Vitol Group”. Its representatives once argued that it wouldn’t load the Venezuelan oil to Belarus, for it didn’t want to break off the relationship with Russia.

Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky didn’t mention the port via which Belarus would import the oil from Venezuela. At present, the Venezuelan oil is imported via the port of Odessa in Ukrainian, the port of Tallinn in Estonia and Klaipeda port in Lithuania.

”It is important for us that all the Baltic countries were involved in the Belarusian exports. Ventspils, Klaipeda and Riga are all important to us. The three ports are suitable for the export of Belarusian cargoes. Therefore, we would prefer the port that offers the best cargo transportation conditions via the territories of the national rails and roads, as well as cost effective cargo service rates”, S. Sidorsky said to the online publication “bc.lv”.

Ventspils port expects to receive greater volumes of kalium fertilizer exports from Belarus. Belarusian Prime Minister S. Sidorsky promised that if the Ventspils port reduced the rates and improved the logistics, Belarus would transport more fertilizer via the port.

Does this mean that part of the fertilizer will be taken away from the port of Klaipeda?

Over 630 thousand tons of Belarusian kalium fertilizer were transported via Ventspils, whereas last year there was none.