Belarusian Segment of Druzhba to Be Cleared of 'Dirty' Oil by Mid-August - Belneftekhim

MINSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st June, 2019) The Belarusian segment of the Druzhba pipeline is expected to be fully cleared of chlorides-contaminated Russian oil by mid-August, Belarusian state oil concern Belneftekhim said in a statement on Friday.

"The Druzhba pipeline on the Belausian territory is expected to be fully cleared by the middle of August 2019," Belneftekhim said.

According to Belneftekhim's estimates, there are currently around 620,000 tonnes of contaminated Russian oil in the Belarusian segment of the pipeline. Meanwhile, the quality of the oil that Russia is currently delivering complies with standards.

Belarus has already started pumping contaminated oil from the Unecha-Polotsk section of the pipeline and substituting it with clean oil.

The delivery of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline to Eastern Europe was halted in late April after it was discovered that the oil was contaminated with organic chloride, which is damaging for oil refineries' equipment. Since then, the delivery has been partially resumed.

An investigation into the incident was opened in Russia. According to preliminary results, the contaminated oil was poured into the pipeline by a group of individuals who had stolen around 1 million rubles ($15,600) worth of pure oil and wanted to cover up the crime.