Interfax cited Mr Igor Demin Transneft spokesman as saying that the company has shipped a first trainload of Eastern Siberian oil toward Kozmino the terminus of the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline.
He said that the rail off-loader at Kozmino has been completed and we have begun working out the technology of shipping oil to the port.
Mr Demin said "Since the trains have capacities varying in the range 4,600 tonnes to 4,800 tonnes, it is difficult to say how longit will take to fill them all. But we expect that loading of the technical oil needed for the terminal to operate will be completed in the first 10 days of November."
According to the report, the first trainload of the technical oil the terminal needs to support operations is scheduled to arrive in Kozmino on October 22nd. The rail tankers will be filled in Meget and Skovorodino. A number of trains will be loaded up with a total of 85,000 tonnes of crude.
Vostokneftetrans will ship the oil using company owned and leased rolling stock. The shipments will be charged at current rail freight rates.
ESPO will transport oil for export to the Asia-Pacific region.
1. The first phase of the project involves construction of a 2,400 kilometer oil pipeline from Taishet to Skovorodino and construction of an oil terminal on the Pacific coast. Oil will be shipped from Skovorodino to the coast by rail.
2. In the second phase, the pipeline from Skovorodino to the terminal will be built and the terminal's capacity will be upgraded.
The first phase of the pipeline, scheduled to begin operation in late December 2009 is expected to have capacity to ship 30 million tonnes of oil a year of which 15 million tonnes will be shipped to China on an ESPO spur. The second phase will have capacity to ship 50 million tonnes a year.
(Sourced from Interfax)
