Russian pipeline operator Transneft's new 300,000 b/d pipeline spur for ESPO crude shipments to China is ready to begin commercial shipments on January 1 following the completion of trial runs Sunday, it said in a statement said late Monday.
Transneft pumped the first trial shipment of crude on November 1, shipping a total of 250,000 mt (61,000 b/d) in November and 300,000 mt in December, the statement said.
The spur travels from Skovorodino, currently the end point of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline, to Daqing in China.
The main ESPO route was launched in December 2009, and consists of a 600,000 b/d pipeline from oil fields near Taishet in East Siberia to Skovorodino in Russia's Far East, near the border with China.
From there, around 300,000 b/d is currently shipped by rail from Skovorodino to an export terminal at Kozmino on the Pacific coast.
Starting January 1, Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft is to start to supply China with 15 million mt/year (300,000 b/d) of ESPO crude. The exports are in line with a contract signed in 2009 to supply 300,000 b/d of oil over 20 years to China.
--Jake Rudnitsky
Transneft pumped the first trial shipment of crude on November 1, shipping a total of 250,000 mt (61,000 b/d) in November and 300,000 mt in December, the statement said.
The spur travels from Skovorodino, currently the end point of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline, to Daqing in China.
The main ESPO route was launched in December 2009, and consists of a 600,000 b/d pipeline from oil fields near Taishet in East Siberia to Skovorodino in Russia's Far East, near the border with China.
From there, around 300,000 b/d is currently shipped by rail from Skovorodino to an export terminal at Kozmino on the Pacific coast.
Starting January 1, Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft is to start to supply China with 15 million mt/year (300,000 b/d) of ESPO crude. The exports are in line with a contract signed in 2009 to supply 300,000 b/d of oil over 20 years to China.
--Jake Rudnitsky
