Transneft to lower capex 5% to 328 bln rubles in 2017, 143 bln rubles of it for investment program
MOSCOW. Jan 13 (Interfax) - Transneft capital expenditure is slated to total 328 billion rubles in 2017, of which 143 billion rubles for the investment program, company Vice President Alexei Sapsai told journalists.
"The plan for 2017 stipulates capex financing at the level 328 billion rubles (185 billion rubles for technical re-equipment and 143 billion rubles for financing the investment program). In the current year under the technical re-equipment program, reconstruction and maintenance will see commissioning of over 1,700 kilometers of linear pipelines, over 100 reservoirs with volume totaling 1 million cubic meters and startup of 11 new oil pump stations," he said.
This year's investment projects involve commissioning, as part of the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO-1) pipeline expansion, three pump stations (Nos. 3,6 and 9) to boost pumping capacity to 70 million tonnes; and, as part of the ESPO-2 project, to finish building the No. 29 pump station to raise capacity to 38 million tonnes of oil per year.
Transneft aims to complete the Yug or South investment project. "We'll gather together all the schemes, from Volgograd to Novorossiysk," Sapsai said. "We'll round off all work in 2017 and I think we'll be able to start full testing, with pumping to begin in 2018, I think in the first quarter of 2018," he said. Work on the Sever-25 project is also planned this year.
"One of the main issues we plan to work on in 2017 is the inter-governmental agreement with China. We'll finish all our own work with a Chinese theme this year. The fourth stage remains, to build the tank farm at the Taishet main pump station," he said.
He said that in 2016 capex was more than 337.5 billion rubles, of which 154 billion rubles was for the investment program and 183 billion rubles were allocated towards technical re-equipment and repair.
Sapsai said that last year Transneft completed the construction of the Zapolyarye-Purpe, Kuyumba-Taishet pipelines, the Yug-1, Sever-15 projects and the access embankment to the Kozmino port.