First U.S. oil bound for Belarus reaches Europe

Belarus is nearly completely dependent on oil supplies from Russia. As there is a pipeline from Belarus to Russian oil fields, oil import from Russia is the cheapest option for Belarus. On 1 January, Russia interrupted the supply because Belarus refused to sign a new oil supply deal. The dispute ended, but consequently Belarus has decided to diversify its oil suppliers. Belarus would like to reduce Russia’s share of their oil supply to between 30 and 40%.