Russian deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov stated that as soon as the terminal in Ust-Luga is complete, Russia will start cutting back the volumes of mazut transported through Estonia and in 2010 the mazut transit in Estonia will end altogether, writes Äripäev.ee/LETA.
Some participants of the transit business in Estonia have already estimated that such threats are much ado about nothing.
In the first quarter of 2009, 4 million tonnes of mazut moved through Estonia – as much as the year before. The annual capacity of the Ust-Luga mazut terminal that is being constructed will be 24 million tonnes.
After completion, Ust-Luga will be able to receive vessels with up to 150,000 tonnes of outward pressure, but unlike the Port of Tallinn it will freeze entirely during the winter season, bringing about extra costs for higher capacity tanker vessels and ice-breaking services. At the same time, the Port of Ust-Luga is close to the oil processing plant in Kirishi in the Leningrad oblast.
Russian railways have stated that Estonia's share in Russia's mazut exports is currently a third.