Russian oil exports to neighboring Belarus are expected to be 4 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2017, officials at Russia's pipeline monopoly Transneft said on Jan. 13. This amount is down from the 4.5 million tonnes planned initially.

According to a preliminary schedule seen by Reuters in December, Russian oil exports to Belarus, a former Soviet republic, had been expected to rise to 4.5 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2017, up from 3 million tonnes in the previous three months.

On Jan. 13, Maxim Grishanin, Transneft's first deputy president, said the plans called for 4 million tonnes in the first quarter.

Russia has a long history of disputes over oil and gas with its neighbors, notably with Ukraine and Belarus.

Belarus has complained that a gas price of $132 per 1,000 cubic meters set by Russia's Gazprom in the past few months is too high, and has been paying less for gas deliveries since the start of last year. Russia has said Belarus owes about $300 million in gas payments.

Transneft and Russia's energy ministry have both said the export schedule reflected planned allocations and that actual volumes exported might differ.

Transneft's Vice President Sergei Andronov also told reporters that Transneft expected crude oil exports to countries outside of the former Soviet Union would be flat year-on-year in 2017.

Transneft also plans to ship 2.4 million tonnes of oil products to non-Russian Baltic ports in 2017, down from 3.2 million tonnes in 2016, Andronov said. Diesel exports via the North Pipeline in the Baltic Sea were expected to be 16.8 million tonnes this year, up from 15.2 million tonnes in 2016.