Naftan

Stock performance

History

Naftan operates the oil refinery at Novopolotsk in northern Belarus, which began production in the 1960s as one of the Soviet Union's westernmost refineries. It later absorbed the neighboring Polymir chemical plant and has been modernized repeatedly to produce higher-quality fuels.

Business model

Naftan refines crude oil supplied by Russia through the Druzhba pipeline system into gasoline, diesel, and other products for the domestic market and for export. For years the preferential price Belarus paid for Russian crude made refining and re-exporting fuel highly profitable, but Russia's 'tax maneuver' from 2019 and EU sanctions after 2022 eroded those advantages and redirected exports toward Russia.

Market position

Naftan is one of Belarus's two oil refineries, alongside Mozyr, and among the largest industrial companies in the country.

Country impact

Refined oil products were for many years Belarus's single largest export, and the refineries' margins were a key way Russia subsidized the Belarusian economy. Naftan's performance therefore tracks the state of Minsk's relationship with Moscow.