OREANDA-NEWS. August 27, 2010. In January-July 2010 the Gomeltransneft Druzhba pipeline operator pumped 44.9 million tonnes of oil, up 3.7% over the same period last year, the company’s director general Sergei Sosnovsky said.

Russian oil accounted for over 98% of the volume. In the seven months from January to July the export of Russian oil towards Poland was up by 14%, and that towards Ukraine was down by 11.4%. A total of 4.15 million tonnes of Russian and Belarusian oil were delivered to Mozyr Oil Refinery.

In the future Gomeltransneft Druzhba “could move up to 100 million tonnes of oil a year. A project to upgrade the pipeline has been designed. However, “we are an integral part of the transnational oil and gas transportation system and work in cooperation with all partners,” said Sergei Sosnovsky. So the volume of transported oil depends on the willingness of the supplier and the consumer.

When asked about a possible decline in the transit of Russian oil transported via Belarus after BTS-2 is commissioned, Sergei Sosnovsky said that this volume will drop slightly, down to 60-65 million tonnes. This year Gomeltransneft Druzhba plans to transport more than 72 million tonnes of Russian oil.