Russia oil firms seek Belarus refiners -reports

Russian oil majors Rosneft and LUKOIL are in talks to buy two Belarus refineries, Russian news agencies quoted the prime minister of Belarus as saying.Belarus, hit by spiralling

inflation and a growing budget deficit, is desperate to secure financing of its ailing economy and is seeking for multi-billion loans.
Mikhail Myasnikovich said that Rosneft is looking to acquire a stake in the Mozyr refinery, while LUKOIL is in talks to buy a state share in Naftan, also known as Polotsk, the Interfax and RIA agencies said.
He also said there were similar talks in other sectors of Belarus industry.
At the start of the year, Russia for several weeks halted deliveries of its Urals crude oil to Belarus refineries as disagreements over oil tariffs and pricing flared. The row posed a threat to the flow of 800,000 barrels per day of oil exports across Belarus to Europe.
At the time Belarusian refineries, operating at a daily capacity of 360,000 barrels, had to slash their output and some analysts suggested Russian companies may eventually gain control of them.
Source: Reuters