Transneft JSC has ceased crude oil supplies through the pipeline to Primorsk oil port due to heavy ice conditions, PortNews reports citing a source close to the pipeline monopoly.
According to the source, the operation of the Baltic Pipeline System shall be resumed in at least 8 hours, otherwise the operation of oil wells might be suspended.
At the same time, according to the official spokesman for Transneft Igor Demin, the pumping will resume at midnight. Now the company redistributes the volume intended for Primorsk to the port of Novorossiysk and oil pipeline "Druzhba".
Leningrad region-based Port of Primorsk (Primorsk Trade Port, PTP) is the premier port in the Russian North-West region for exports of crude oil and petroleum products. The Primorsk Oil Terminal is the terminus of the Baltic Pipeline System (BPS) and main pipelines Kstovo-Yaroslavl-Kirishi-Primorsk (North Project) and JSC Transnefteproduct. In 2010, crude oil exports through the port of Primorsk totaled 71,7 million tons.