Anglo-Russian TNK-BP expects the quality of Russia's new ESPO export blend to improve through 2011 with more quality fields coming into production, the company's vice president for sales and logistics Jonathan Kollek said Monday.
"The quality of ESPO we think will improve in the course of the next year both [in respect of] API and sulfur content," he told reporters at a briefing.
Kollek did not provide details.
Russia's new ESPO crude blend, which is being exported to Asian markets via new East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline, is of higher quality then the country's key export blend Urals and is made up of crude from East Siberia, West and Central Siberia. The API gravity for ESPO is approximately 34-35 degrees with a sulfur content of 0.58-0.65%, according to Platts' specification.
In the long-term, the company expects the ESPO quality to improve gradually to reach API gravity of 37 and sulfur content slightly above 0.2% in 2024, according to the company's materials seen by Platts.
The issue of crude quality, however, is not limited to the volumes going to the east, Kollek said.
"The quality of crude to be exported from Russia [to the west] will of course be impacted by new production and refining," he said.
Kollek noted that a recently launched new refinery in Nizhnekamsk was supposed to process crude with sulfur content of 3.5% but was unlikely to start doing so any time soon.
The Nizhnekamsk refinery built in the heavy oil province of Tatarstan to refine sour crude, so to exclude heavy crude oil from the export flows and consequently improve quality of the country's key export blend, Urals, being sent westward.
"The fact is that it is not able to refine that kind of crude and will not [be able to do so] in the near future," Kollek said.
"When it will move to 3.5% that will be a relief," he added.
The 140,000 b/d refinery was launched in a testing mode in late October, when it was announced that it would start working in a normal mode to refine oil with sulfur content of 1.8% starting from 2011.
The refinery's operator Taneco expects to start handling crude with sulfur content of 2.3% in 2013, and to start refining heavy oil with sulfur content of 3.5% in 2016.
"The quality of ESPO we think will improve in the course of the next year both [in respect of] API and sulfur content," he told reporters at a briefing.
Kollek did not provide details.
Russia's new ESPO crude blend, which is being exported to Asian markets via new East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline, is of higher quality then the country's key export blend Urals and is made up of crude from East Siberia, West and Central Siberia. The API gravity for ESPO is approximately 34-35 degrees with a sulfur content of 0.58-0.65%, according to Platts' specification.
In the long-term, the company expects the ESPO quality to improve gradually to reach API gravity of 37 and sulfur content slightly above 0.2% in 2024, according to the company's materials seen by Platts.
The issue of crude quality, however, is not limited to the volumes going to the east, Kollek said.
"The quality of crude to be exported from Russia [to the west] will of course be impacted by new production and refining," he said.
Kollek noted that a recently launched new refinery in Nizhnekamsk was supposed to process crude with sulfur content of 3.5% but was unlikely to start doing so any time soon.
The Nizhnekamsk refinery built in the heavy oil province of Tatarstan to refine sour crude, so to exclude heavy crude oil from the export flows and consequently improve quality of the country's key export blend, Urals, being sent westward.
"The fact is that it is not able to refine that kind of crude and will not [be able to do so] in the near future," Kollek said.
"When it will move to 3.5% that will be a relief," he added.
The 140,000 b/d refinery was launched in a testing mode in late October, when it was announced that it would start working in a normal mode to refine oil with sulfur content of 1.8% starting from 2011.
The refinery's operator Taneco expects to start handling crude with sulfur content of 2.3% in 2013, and to start refining heavy oil with sulfur content of 3.5% in 2016.
