CEO of sanctioned oil refinery upbeat about sales in 2022

December 29, BPN. The Naftan oil refinery plans to expand production as it anticipates a rise in sales despite the disrupted logistics chains, Naftan’s CEO Andrej Sojka said at the staff meeting.

Naftan was close to reaching its planned sales in October, aiming to process 18,000 tons per day in November and December, “its optimal level,” Vestnik Naftana quoted him as saying.

The company is expecting an annual profit margin of over four percent, after overcoming a decline in H1 2022, Sojka said.

In June, the European Union (EU) adopted the sixth package of sanctions against Belarus, targeting 12 individuals and eight companies, including Naftan.

Belarusian authorities reported that the EU froze assets of 26 Belarusian companies. Belarusian state-run companies fear that their assets may be blocked completely.

Minsk struck a deal with Moscow that makes Belarusian refineries eligible for compensation from the Russian government as part of recent changes in the mineral extraction tax calculation method in Russia. The agreement was conditional on tax legislation harmonization. The Belarusian budget may receive additional 1.7 billion Belarusian rubles (about $627 million) in revenue under the arrangement, said Juryj Sielivierstaŭ, Belarus’ finance minister.