Belarusian President Says Damages From Contaminated Russian Oil 'Enormous'

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has said that the cost of damages from contaminated oil received via the Russian Druzhba oil pipeline was "enormous" and that Belarus expects compensation from Russia.

“Right now, we are evaluating the damage,” Lukashenka was quoted as saying on May 11 by the state-run Belta news agency.

“Damage is enormous to the pipeline, to the equipment on the pipelines, including pumps on the facilities and the like, and to the oil refineries," Lukashenko said.

He said he expects the costs to run into the hundreds of millions of dollars and that he hopes Russia will not dispute the figures.

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Organic chlorides in crude oil are known to cause severe corrosion in crude tower overhead systems.

repeated contamination of the crude charge with organic chlorides. Corrosion in these exchangers increased to the point where the remaining life of the exchangers was used up in a matter of weeks.
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