Lukoil finishes building oil pipeline for redirection to its terminal in Varandey
MOSCOW. Oct 2 (Interfax) - Lukoil has finished building the 158-kilometer inter-field Kharyaga-Yuzhnoye Khylchuyu pipeline, with annual productivity of 4 million tonnes a year, the Russian oil company said in a statement.
This pipeline will transport oil from the Sever-TEK terminal at Kharyaga to the Yuzhnoye-Khylchuyu oil receipt and delivery point, with subsequent delivery to the Yuzhnoye Khylchuyu-Varandey inter-field pipeline.
"The commissioning of the pipeline will reduce the payback period for the construction of the Varandey terminal thanks to a significant increase in its load," the statement said.
Lukoil will also be able to cut costs on oil transport via the Baltic Pipeline System (BPS). In addition, a portion of the burden will be removed from the Kharyaga-Usa inter-field oil pipeline and from the Usa-Ukhta and Ukhta-Yaroslavl main oil pipelines, which are currently running in excess of their throughout capacity.
In connection with reduced oil production at the Yuzhnoye Khylchuyu field last year, oil handling through the export terminal in the town of Varandey in the Nenets Autonomous District fell to 4 million tonnes of oil a year, compared to 7.5 million tonnes in 2010.
For several unforeseen geological reasons, oil output at the field plummeted by more than 50% in 2011 to 3.3 million tonnes.
