The pipeline, with 44 pumping stations, will extend from Taishet in Siberia’s Irkutsk region to Perevoznaya Bay on the Sea of Japan. “Design work has been going on since January,” Gorchakov said. He added that pipeline construction is planned to begin simultaneously this summer at two locations: Taishet and Perevoznaya Bay.
The deputy governor’s remarks came after a meeting in Vladivostok between regional leaders and the head of the federal sea and river transport agency Vyacheslav Ruksha. Gorchakov said oil would be transported to the Perevoznaya terminal by rail until the pipeline is completed. Regional authorities currently are upgrading the railway links to Perevoznaya, especially the 90km section from Baranovskaya to Kedrovaya. Gorchakov’s remarks followed a 21 February meeting in Moscow between Japanese and Russian experts to discuss the pipeline project; the meeting reportedly discussed exploration for oil in eastern Siberia, and Japanese financial aid for the project, as well as the economic and environmental effects of building the pipeline. Participants at the meeting included representatives of Japan’s Natural Resources and Energy Agency, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Russia’s Industry and Energy Ministry, and state-owned pipeline operator Transneft. Japanese ports are only 400km from the proposed terminus of the pipeline, but Russia also hopes to export its oil to China, South Korea, Indonesia, and Australia.
Story courtesy Global Pipeline Monthly – www.gasandoil.com/gpm.