Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said on Friday that Russia would reverse transfer around one million tonnes of oil from Belarus, following a contamination incident in the Russian Druzhba pipeline.
Kozak said that Russia had prepared storage facilities for the contaminated oil on its territory, and that the pipeline would be cleaned up to the border with Poland by June 10.
On the subject of compensation for Poland, Kozak said some questions remained unresolved and a further round of talks between Russia and Poland would be held on June 3.
At least 5 million tonnes of oil, or about 36.7 million barrels, have been contaminated by organic chloride, a chemical compound used to boost oil extraction by cleaning wells and accelerating the flow of crude.
The compound must be removed before oil is sent to customers because it can destroy refining equipment.
Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft said the contamination happened in the Volga region of Samara and blamed unidentified "fraudsters". President Vladimir Putin said Transneft lacked a proper mechanism to prevent contamination.
Transneft allows no more than 10 parts per million (ppm) of organic chlorides, while levels in the Druzhba line and Ust-Luga have fluctuated between 80 and 330 ppm.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters