The first tons of crude oil from the Ust-Luga-based export oil terminal of Baltic Pipeline System (BPS-2) will be loaded to a marine tanker not earlier than 15-20 December 2011, Transneft official said on Friday.
According to Nikolai Tokarev, head of the state-owned monopoly, Transneft has completed all the necessary work under the BPS-2 project, but "still has some technical problems, currently being solved by our neighbors."
"In any case, this year we are going to send one tanker in the framework of the project. I think, by 15-20 December everything will have been done," Transneft press service quoted Mr. Tokarev as saying.
This year, Tokarev said, the company plans to load 100,000 tons of export oil to one tanker. Next year the company expects crude oil supplies through the BTS-2 to reach some 20 million tons.
The BPS-2 firs phase capacity is 30 million tons a year, on the second phase the volume will be boosted to 38 million t/y. The facility second phase is scheduled for completion in December 2013.
This week, Transneft reported it had completed start-up testing of the oil export facilities on Nov 15th.
The project Baltic Pipeline System-2 is being implemented in line with the Russian Government’s order (November 26, 2008). Transneft has constructed the 1000 km pipeline of capacity of 38 million tons of crude oil a year (the first phase - 30m tons), five pumping stations (PS), reconstructed existing pumping stations - "Unecha" and "Andreapol," and completed Ust-Luga Oil Depot with tank farm of 8 tanks of capacity of 50000 cbm each. The BPS-2 first phase commissioning is scheduled for Dec. 2011.
The pipeline network runs on the territory of Bryansk, Smolensk, Tver, Novgorod and Leningrad regions of Russia.
Moscow-based Transneft is the state-owned Russian company responsible for the national oil pipelines. Transneft manages the largest oil pipeline system in the world, with a total network length of nearly 50,000 km. The company transports about 93% of the oil extracted in Russia.