OREANDA-NEWS. October 28, 2010. A little more than half a million tons of crude oil from Venezuela has been unloaded at the Muuga port just outside the Estonian capital Tallinn in recent months for shipment to Belarus by rail, Aripaev reported.

BNS reported in July about the arrival of the first tanker with Venezuelan oil at Muuga. According to different international news sources the amount of crude forwarded to Belarus then was 80,000 tons.

Aripaev observed that ports in Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine are competing with Muuga for the Belarus import shipments. Only facilities in Odessa, Ukraine, which have accepted more than 700,000 tons so far, are capable of competing with Muuga.

"The reason why Belarus chose Muuga port for its oil transit is the immediate readiness of the infrastructure, terminal and railway of the Muuga port for the provision of such service," said Port of Tallinn Board Chairman Ain Kaljurand. "All the other ports must make additional investments for it," the CEO of the state company that runs Muuga port added.

As Port of Tallinn has learned, Belarus is planning to import about 10 million tons of crude from Venezuela next year. It is not known yet which ports it will use. In great likelihood Belarus is testing different options at this point and the eventual decision will not necessarily be in favor of a single port, Kaljurand said.

In recent years transit of liquid fuels via Muuga has amounted to 18-20 million tons annually, Aripaev said. Venezuelan oil has been moving via the terminal formerly owned by Eurodek Synergy OU, which was acquired by Mercuria Energy Asset Management B.V. in December last year and now bears the name Vesta.

Aripaev added that the port of Riga must perform several additional works, such as increase its depth, to be able to accept Venezuelan oil.