China, Russia Oil Pipeline Starts Trial Operation

Russia's crude oil started flowing into China through a pipeline linking Russia's far east to China's northeast as the two countries began testing the pipeline Monday evening.

The crude oil will arrive at Mohe at 8 to 9 a.m. on Tuesday, the first of terminal of the pipeline in China, said an official with China National Petroleum Corp., the operator of the Chinese branch of the pipeline.

An official of China Customs said China planned to import 250,000 tonnes of crude from Russia in November and 300,000 tonnes in December. The pipeline will bring 15 million tonnes of crude oil across the border annually beginning January 1, 2011.

The pipeline is a branch of Russia's 4,000-km-long East Siberia to Pacific Ocean Pipeline which runs from Taishet in Eastern Siberia to the Pacific port of Kozmino. The Chinese branch of the pipeline runs from the Chinese border town of Mohe to Daqing, both in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

According to an agreement between Russia and China, the pipeline will transport 15 million tonnes of crude oil annually from Russia to China from 2011 to 2030. However, the pipeline is capable of pumping twice that amount into China annually.

(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2010)