Transneft to build additional pump stations for ESPO branches to refineries in Khabarovsk Territory
KHABAROVSK. Nov 7 (Interfax) - Transneft will build additional oil pumping stations for branches off the Eastern Siberia Pacific Ocean (ESPO) to the Khabarovsk and Komsomolsky Oil Refineries, the general director of LLC Dalnefteprovod (Transneft subsidiary), Robert Galiyev, said on Wednesday.
"It is necessary to build additional oil pumping stations in the Khabarovsk Territory and Amur Region for a branches and an increase in ESPO's transport capacity. So, one from pumping station N29 will be commissioned next to the town of Arkhar," he said.
He said that three oil pumping stations will be built for the development of a 350 kilometer branch to the Komsomolsky Refinery: one parent station and two interim stations, as well as a hub at the end point to tally oil.
In addition, the capacity of pump station N34, from which a branch to Khabarovsk Oil Refinery, will be expanded.
"The design capacity for the branch to Komsomolsky Refinery comes to 7 million tonnes of oil a year," he said.
It was earlier reported that the branch from EPSO to Khabarovsk Oil Refinery (part of Oil Company Alliance) should be up and running in 2014. In 2015, this branch might deliver 5 million tonnes of oil to this refinery in 2015.
Khabarovsk Oil Refinery and Dalnefteprovod have signed an agreement, according to which oil from the ESPO pipeline will be pumped to the refinery. According to current estimates, the costs for the branch from the Khabarovsk Oil Refinery to ESPO might come to 3 billion-3.5 billion rubles.
The ESPO pipeline is being built to move oil to market in the Asia-Pacific Region. The first line of the system was put into operation at the end of December 2009. In the first phase was built a pipeline section running from Taishet (Irkutsk Region) to Skovorodino and the oil terminal at Kozmino on the Pacific coast. Oil is transported by rail from Skovorodino to the port. In the second phase, there will be built a pipeline section from Skovorodino to the coast and the terminal's handling capacity will be increased. ESPO-2 should be commissioned in mid-November. Total oil shipped via Kozmino might increase from 15 million to 30 million tonnes.