Varandey oil export terminal (Barents Sea coast) handled 73 tankers during a year of operation
73 tankers were handled at the sea ice-strengthened berth of the Varandey oil export terminal on the shore of the Barents Sea (Nenets Autonomous Territory) during a year of its operation. Three ice-class 70,000-dwt tankers built by Sovcomflot specially for this purpose operate there, the terminal owner LUKOIL says.
Ice-class tug-boat Toboy and the Varandey icebreaker ensure safe operation of the terminal and loading of the tankers.
The Varandey oil export terminal is designed for offshore export of the oil extracted by LUKOIL in Timan-Pechora oil and gas province. The terminal is located in the Barents Sea some 22 km off the coast. Oil cargo is pumped to tankers of up to 20,000 tonnes in capacity for further transshipment in Murmansk port via Belokamenka terminal (storage tanker owned by Rosneft). Annual capacity of Varandey is 12 million tonnes. The project comprises sea storage tank farm, sea ice-strengthened berth, two pipelines and other infrastructure facilities. According to PortNews IAA oil shipment from Varandey terminal totaled 1.4 mln t in 2008.