30 August 2006
Belarus considers buying two oil fields in Russia

Belarus is contemplating the purchase of two oil wells in Russia, a senior executive at the Belneftekhim state-controlled petrochemical concern said Tuesday.

The prime minister of Belarus said August 1 that exports of crude oil to Russia could drop because the country was redistributing it to other countries. But he said the country could lose markets if it did not cooperate with Russia.

Mikhail Osipenko said the fields have an estimated reserve of 15 mln metric tons.

"Russian companies would like to sell them at a very high price. We, of course, would like to buy them for less," he said. He did not disclose the location of the fields, citing confidentiality considerations.

The Belarusian State Petrochemical Concern (Belneftekhim) includes the country's largest enterprises in the chemical and petrochemical industry. //RIA Novosti