The Baltic Pipeline System-2 (BPS-2, ') is a second trunk line of the

Baltic Pipeline System The Baltic Pipeline System (BPS) is a Russian oil transport system operated by the oil pipeline company Transneft. The BPS transports oil from the Timan-Pechora region, West Siberia and Urals-Volga regions to Primorsk oil terminal at the eastern ...

. The pipeline is constructed and operated by Russian oil pipeline company

Transneft Joint Stock Company Transneft (russian: Транснефть) is a state-controlled pipeline transport company headquartered in Moscow, Russia. It is the largest oil pipeline company in the world. Transneft is operating over of trunk pipeline ...

. The BPS-2 was completed in 2011 and began to function in late March 2012.

History

The project was proposed after an oil transit dispute between Russia and Belarus at the beginning of January 2007, and was approved by the Russian government on 21 May 2007. Although in April 2008 Russia's Ministry of Industry and Energy submitted a negative profitability report regarding the pipeline, Russia opted to develop its own infrastructure for exporting hydrocarbons, bypassing former Soviet transit countries. The main goal of the pipeline is to protect Russia and its partners from the transit countries' possible decisions to raise tariffs or siphon off hydrocarbons. On 1 December 2008

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

signed a

resolution Resolution(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate * Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body * New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...

ordering construction. The construction started on 10 June 2009. Construction was completed in October 2011. The opening of export terminal at Ust-Luga was postponed until 2012 due to damage by landslips.

Route

The long pipeline system runs from the

Unecha Unecha (russian: Уне́ча), a town and the administrative center of Unechsky District in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, stands on the Unecha River (within the Dnieper's basin) southwest of Bryansk, the administrative center of the oblast. Popul ...

junction of the Druzhba pipeline near the Russia-Belarus border to the

Ust-Luga Ust-Luga (russian: Усть-Луга, lit. ''mouth of the Luga'', Votian: ''Laugasuu'', lit. ''mouth of the Luga'', fi, Laukaansuu) is a settlement and railway station in Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, near the Estonian border ...

terminal on the Gulf of Finland. The length of the pipeline from Unecha to Ust-Luga is and the length of the branch line to Kirishi oil refinery is . The pipeline passes

Bryansk Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population: Geography Urban la ...

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

Tver Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population: Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...

, Novgorod, and

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

regions.

Technical description

The initial capacity of the pipeline at the first stage is 10 million tons of oil per year, which will be upgraded to 50 million tons during the second stage. Of this, 12 million tons will be transported to Ust-Luga and 12 million tons to

Kirishi refinery Kinef ( rus, КИНЕФ), an abbreviation for Kirishi Petroleum Organic Synthesis ( rus, Киришинефтеоргсинтез, Kirishinefteorgsintez), is a Russian joint stock production association operating a large oil refinery based in ...

. Diameter of the pipeline will vary between . The construction cost is estimated at US$4 billion. The second stage is expected to be completed by December 2013. The pipeline will have eight pumping stations. During the first stage, two new pumping stations were built, and two pumping stations (in Unecha and Andreapol) were renovated. During the second stage, four new pumping stations will be added, and the pumping station No.7 will be equipped with a tank farm with a capacity of . In addition, the oil terminal in Ust-Luga was built.

References

External links

Official website (in Russian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baltic Pipeline System-Ii Energy infrastructure completed in 2011 Oil pipelines in Russia Transneft Baltic Sea