The Belarussian government has increased its export duty on oil and oil products to the Russian level, in line with an intergovernmental agreement with Russia, the Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday.

According to a government resolution from January 1, 2007, the export duty for oil transported from Belarus to states outside the territory of the Eurasian Economic Community is set at 180.7 U.S. dollars per tonne, a source in the office of the Council of Ministers said.

Other export duties are raised to 134 dollars per tonne for light and mid-distillates, and gas oil, 72.2 dollars for liquid fuel, lubricating oil and processed oil products, and 134 dollars on propane, butane, ethylene, propylene, butylenes, butadiene and other liquefied gasses.

According to the Belarussian Statistics and Analysis Ministry, Belarussian oil refineries increased primary oil refining 7.3 percent to 21.25 million tonnes in 2006.

Last year the country produced 1.78 million tonnes of oil, which is 0.3 percent less than in 2005. Belarus exports 75 percent of the oil it produces.

The Russian and Belarussian governments signed an agreement on January 12 for export duties on crude oil supplied to Belarus in 2007.

Under the agreement, Russia cut a tax for crude oil exported to Belarus from 180 U.S. dollars, set at the beginning of the year, to 53 dollars per ton of crude oil, which had previously been given without a duty.

Besides, Russia will receive 70 percent of revenues from Belarus's exports of refined Russian oil this year and the figure would rise to 80 percent in 2008 and 85 percent in 2009.