Terminal at Ust-Luga could work in test mode by end-2013
ST. PETERSBURG. March 2 (Interfax) - The oil-loading terminal at Ust-Luga, the end point of the Baltic Pipeline System (BPS-2), could be working in test mode by the end of 2013, Russian Deputy Transport Minister Victor Olersky told journalists.
The project provides for the technical possibility of operating the system in test mode "almost by the end of 2013," although this does not mean that it will operate in this mode all this time, he said.
While the system is operating in test mode, the state of the quay wall will be monitored, as will other hydraulic equipment at the terminal.
The terminal at Ust-Luga could be launched into test mode in the near future. "We expect the first tanker very soon. I can't say exactly when, but within days," Olersky said. The Federal Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Oversight Agency (Rostekhnadzor) is prepared to approve the project. "At the very least, all issues have already been removed at Rostekhnadzor," he said.
A final decision on the launch could be made at a Friday meeting headed by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin.
