OREANDA-NEWS. August 6, 2010.  Belarus is testing new routes for its oil imports from Venezuela, eyeing shipments via Lithuanian ports, as Minsk seeks to diversify crude deliveries due to strained relations with Russia, its main energy supplier.

"We are discussing with Belarussians possibility of importing crude via Klaipeda. At the moment we are discussing one tanker as a trial. It would be (delivered to Klaipeda) in the beginning of September or late in August," Klaipedos Nafta general manager Rokas Masiulis.

"We are also discussing long-term shipments, up to 2.0 million tonnes per year," he added.