The first batch of Norwegian oil arrived in Novopolotsk on the morning of January 26 for processing at Naftan OJSC.
The first batch of Norwegian oil arrived in Novopolotsk on the morning of January 26 for processing at Naftan OJSC.A train consisting of 59 tank cars with a total volume of about 3.5 thousand tons arrived at the "Novopolotsk" station from the Klaipėda port by railway yesterday at 8:10 AM. The entire batch of Norwegian oil (86 thousand tons), delivered by the vessel Breiviken, is expected to be received by the enterprise within the next two weeks.
"The distance from the Norwegian coast, where the loading into the tanker took place, to our enterprise, which is 2.3 thousand km, the oil covered in less than 7 days. The first train from the port of Klaipėda reached the "Novopolotsk" station within a day. Certain technological operations for draining the oil and preparing it for processing are now commencing, and immediately after that, we will begin processing it. The remaining part of the tanker batch will be delivered rhythmically, with one to two trains per day," reported Alexander Demidov, General Director of Naftan OJSC.
According to him, the Norwegian grade of North Sea oil received by the enterprise is called Johan Sverdrup. It has been extracted from the Norwegian continental shelf on an industrial scale since the fourth quarter of 2019. "The quality of this oil is quite interesting. This grade is already being called a competitor to Russian Urals in the world. It has entered the market quite confidently due to its quality characteristics. For example, the sulfur content in this oil is half that of Urals, and the yield of light oil products during its processing, as laboratory analysis has shown, is slightly higher than when processing Urals. This means that the potential and prospects for this grade, in my opinion, compared to Urals, are very significant," stated the head of the enterprise.
In Alexander Demidov's opinion, it will be possible to speak more concretely about the future prospects of using Norwegian oil after all analyses are completed. "We have received this grade for the first time; now we will work through all aspects, its processing will begin at the technological units, after which we will draw technological conclusions regarding further operations. In our view, this is a good grade. The aspect that the raw material is purchased without intermediaries, directly from one of the companies involved in the oil extraction project on the Norwegian shelf, is also important. Moreover, we have established good relations with the suppliers," added the General Director.
Aleksandr Demidov emphasized that the enterprise has been tasked with the systematic supply of alternative raw materials. "This is what we are currently doing. We have a database of technical grades, which we are currently optimizing, looking at new grades appearing on the market, identifying the most optimal ones from the perspective of technological parameters and economics. Based on this, we will make further decisions on the long-term program," the head concluded.
After the completion of the necessary operations for incoming oil quality control, the first tons were delivered to Naftan's reservoirs. Russia halted oil supplies to Belarus on January 1 due to the failure to reach agreements on price. Belarusian refineries (Mozyr Refinery and Naftan) reduced their processing to a technological minimum. On January 4, Belneftekhim reported an agreement with a Russian company for the supply of the first batch of oil, purchased at a price without a premium. The government stated that all possible alternative supply options were being studied.