Vysotsk is ready
LUKOIL OC has finalized the construction of a Distribution-and-Transshipment Complex (DTC) at Vysotskij island in Leningrad Region. The capacity of the complex is 15 million tons of oil products per year. The project implemented by the company in 4 years will enable LUKOIL to export 9 million tons of fuel in 2006 and 12 million tons in 2007.
Having built in three phases
Official ceremony of putting the third stage of DTC-Vysotsk LUKOIL II into operation has been carried out today, on September 5, 2006. Commissioning and test of the structures of the third line started on June 30. It was the third phase to enable LUKOIL transship heavy fuel oil. Total capacity of the terminal’s tanks after commissioning of the third stage is to be 460 thou cubic meters. DTC has three discharge railroad overpasses for each type of oil products and a berth to accept river tankers with heavy fuel oil. The depth of marine access canal enables the terminal to accept larger tankers with capacity of 80-100 thou tons. According to Vladimir Kaluzhenov, director general of DTC, it is the best DTC in Russia and Europe. We returned all the flows of oil products from the ports of Finland and Baltic states to Russia, he added.
Total volume of investments into the project amounted from the beginning of its implementation to $573 million. The figure includes $12 million invested into construction of the third phase. The construction of the terminal was carried out jointly with American engineering company Fluor Corporation, the credit for construction was granted by American private investment fund HBK Fund, the guarantors of the credit was US state agency Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and Credit Swiss First Boston bank.
Own and foreign
The first phase of the terminal was put into operation in June 2004, the 2nd one – in April 2005. In 2005 6.9 million tons of oil and oil products (diesel fuel and vacuum gas-oil) coming only by railroad were transshipped at Vysotskij DTC. However at the beginning of 2005 DTC-Vysotsk ceased transshipment of crude oil and focused at oil products. Besides own cargo LUKOIL transships export fuel of TNK-ВР Oil Company. In 2005 transshipment volume of foreign fuel amounted to about 75 thou tons.
The growth has been determined
According to Vladimir Nekrasov, vice-president of LUKOIL, plan of 2006 provisions transshipment of about 9 million tons of oil products, in 2007 it will grow to 12 million tons. Today oil products transshipment of DTC is about 750-850 thou tons per month (July — 825 thou tons, September forecast — 750 thou tons). Volume of fuel transshipment in the next year is expected to grow owing to increase of oil products supply by railroad and to doubled volume of heavy fuel oil delivered to the terminal by river tankers. According to the forecast of Sergei Kiselev, deputy production manager of DTC-Vysotsk LUKOIL II, total volume of heavy fuel oil transshipment at river berth over the navigation of 2006 will not exceed 600-700 thou tons. By river we can accept 180 thou tons of oil products per month, but this year the market of river transportation is characterized by the deficit of carrying facilities, Kiselev explained. According to Kiselev, railroad supply of heavy fuel oil to Vysotsk in September-October will reach the level of design capacity — about 300 thou tons per month.
According to the port design, monthly export of heavy fuel oil (mainly Market-100 brand) and vacuum gas-oil should include about 300 thou tons each. Monthly transshipment of diesel fuel will amount to 500 thou tons in summer period (7 months) and 400 thou tons in winter period (4 months of the year). Heavy fuel oil, Kiselev says, will go to USA, while vacuum gas-oil will be exported to Europe, diesel fuel – to France and Belgium. Since diesel fuel conforms to Euro-4 standard (low sulfur content), it is exported not for further treatment but for sale within retail trade system (to filling stations), Kiselev added.