Transneft to increase oil pumping via ESPO-2 by 20% in 2016 to 36 mln tonnes
MOSCOW. April 21 (Interfax) - Transneft in 2016 is planning to pump 36 million tonnes of oil via Skovorodino-Kozmino (ESPO-2), the Pipeline Oil Transport journal said with reference to the deputy CEO for commercial transport operations of LLC Transneft Far East, Azamat Khabibullin.
By 2020 the capacity of the section will rise to 50 million tonnes a year. In 2015, 30.7 million tonnes of oil was transported through Skovorodino-Kozmino. "One of the reasons for such substantial growth is the commissioning of the leadaway oil pipeline to the Khabarovsk oil refinery," the company spokesperson said. "Since September 2015, when commercial supplies to this plant began, and until the end of the year, the pipeline brought more than 1.5 million tonnes of oil there. This year the oil refinery is planning to accept already 5 million tonnes. In addition, at the decision of the company, starting in April railway shipments of oil were stopped along the Skovorodino-Kozmino route, and the freed volumes will go via pipeline," the spokesperson said.
The expansion of ESPO-2 envisages the construction of four new oil pumping stations, N23, 26, 29 and 32, LLC Transneft Far East CEO Roman Kovalev said. First oil-pumping station N29 will be commissioned, work at the other three stations is planned to begin in 2017 and to be completed by the end of 2019. The technical part of product documentation underwent state expert review, he said.
The project also envisages the reconstruction of existing stations. He said that most of all this concerned work at the interim oil pumping station N27, at which there will be two reservoirs of 50,000 cubic meters each. Also at the active N34 and 41 stations additional reservoirs for emergency release and fire water reserve storage are being built. Currently all this work is in the design stage. The construction of new facilities and the reconstruction of existing ones will be carried out by the transport control center of ESPO.
Khabibullin said that the productivity of the oil pipeline will be increased not only due to technical solutions and the construction of new stations, but also due to the use of anti-turbulence additives. By 2020 the installations for introducing these additives will be at five oil pumping stations. Giprotruboprovod is developing the necessary design documentation.