Naftan is expected to achieve break-even operations by the end of January-April

April 28, Minsk / Natalia Verbitskaya - BELTA /. Naftan OJSC should reach break-even operation by the end of the first four months of the current year. This was stated today at a press conference by Anatoly Filonov, Deputy Minister of Economy of Belarus, as reported by a BELTA correspondent. According to Belstat, the volume of production at enterprises of the chemical and petrochemical industry of Belarus in the first quarter of the current year increased by 29% compared to the same period in 2009 and amounted to Br3.581 trillion. At the same time, in January-February, sales of products in the petrochemical and oil refining industries were unprofitable - profitability was minus 0.3% and minus 10% respectively. Anatoly Filonov recalled that since 2010, the conditions for oil supply to Belarus have changed, and specific volumes of duty-free oil supplies have been determined. In the current conditions, Belarusian oil refining enterprises "had losses in January; naturally, these accumulated losses carried over further," he noted. The Deputy Minister explained that in January, Belarusian oil refineries were subject to double taxation: they paid a 100% import duty on oil and duties on exported oil products. The head of state made a decision to eliminate double taxation and compensate for the paid customs duties. As a result, by the end of the first quarter, the Mozyr Oil Refinery reached profitable operation. "Naftan had a profitability of about 0.5%, which is due to the specifics of its operation, including the fact that it is focused on a larger output of diesel fuel, and therefore on supplies to the domestic market and has export restrictions. "In addition, the enterprise has worse logistics, it has to export oil products through the Baltic ports, while the Mozyr Oil Refinery supplies oil to the nearest regions," Anatoly Filonov added. -0-