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The Eastern Siberia–Pacific Ocean oil pipeline (ESPO pipeline or ESPOOP, ) is a pipeline system for exporting
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n
crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...
to the Asia-Pacific markets (
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and
Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
). The pipeline is built and operated by Russian pipeline company
Transneft Joint Stock Company Transneft () is a state-controlled pipeline transport company headquartered in Moscow, Russia. It is the largest oil pipeline company in the world. The company is operating over of trunk pipelines and transports about 80% ...
.


History

The first discussions of launching the ESPO pipeline started in the 1970s. Later, in 1996, on the initiative of the Russian president, Boris Yeltsin, Russia and China signed an energy agreement including plans for the ESPO pipeline. The original project of this pipeline was proposed by the Russian oil company
Yukos OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Bank Menatep during the controversial "loans for shares" auctions of ...
in 2001 as an independent oil pipeline. The project involved the building of a pipeline from
Angarsk Angarsk ( rus, Ангарск, p=ɐnˈgarsk) is a city and the administrative center of Angarsky District of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Kitoy River, from Irkutsk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History Ang ...
, where Yukos operated a refinery, to
Daqing Daqing () is a prefecture-level city in the west of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. The name literally means "Great Celebration" and refers to the tenth anniversary of the PRC. Daqing is known as the "Oil Capital of China" a ...
in northern China. At the same time, Transneft proposed an alternative project to pipe oil from Taishet in
Irkutsk Oblast Irkutsk Oblast (; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of the Angara River, Angara, Lena River, Lena, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska Rivers. The administrative center is ...
to the Far East port Kozmino near Nakhodka. In May 2003, the Russian Government decided to combine these projects and that Transneft would be in charge of the pipeline, while Yukos would supply the oil. On 29 May 2003, Russia and China signed an agreement on construction of the pipeline. On 31 December 2004, the Russian government approved the construction of the pipeline from Taishet in East Siberia to Perevoznaya,
Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krais of Russia, krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...
, in the Pacific region. Construction of the pipeline started in April 2006. On 4 October 2008, the section between Taishet and Talakan was launched in a reverse to pump oil from
Surgutneftegas Surgutneftegas ( rus, ПАО «Сургутнефтегаз», p=sʊrɡʊtnʲɪftʲɪˈɡas) is a Russian oil and gas company created by merging several previously state-owned companies owning large oil and gas reserves in Western Siberia. The c ...
-owned Alinsky deposit. The first stage of the pipeline was completely laid in May 2009 and the whole first stage was reversed in December 2009. The terminal at Kozmino was inaugurated by Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin on 28 December 2009. Construction of the second stage from Skovorodino to the Pacific Ocean started after launch of the first stage. In meantime, oil was transported from Skovorodino to Kozmino by railway. The second stage was inaugurated on 25 December 2012.


China branch

In June 2009, Russia and China signed a deal to build the spur pipeline to China by which Russia supplies China with 15 million tonnes of oil () each year for 20 years in exchange for a loan worth US$25 billion to Russian companies Transneft and
Rosneft PJSC Rosneft Oil Company ( stylized as ROSNEFT) is a Russian integrated energy company headquartered in Moscow. Rosneft specializes in the exploration, extraction, production, refining, transport, and sale of petroleum, natural gas, and pet ...
for pipeline and oil fields development. Construction of the spur to China started in the Russian territory on 27 April 2008 and in Chinese territory on 18 May 2009. The long section from Skovorodino to the
Amur River The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ''proper'' is ...
on Russia-China border was built by Transneft and the long section from Russia-China border to Daqing was built by the
China National Petroleum Corporation The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) () is a major national oil and gas corporation of China and one of the largest integrated energy groups in the world. Its headquarters are in Dongcheng District, Beijing, Dongcheng District, Beij ...
(CNPC). It was completed in September 2010. On 1 January 2011, Russia said it had begun scheduled oil shipments to China.


Route

The pipeline is being laid by the route of Taishet-Kazachinskoye- Skovorodino- Kozmino. Because of protests of environmental organizations, the initial pipeline route was moved north of
Lake Baikal Lake Baikal is a rift lake and the deepest lake in the world. It is situated in southern Siberia, Russia between the Federal subjects of Russia, federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast, Irkutsk Oblasts of Russia, Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...
. Instead of going through
Buryatia Buryatia, officially the Republic of Buryatia, is a republic of Russia located in the Russian Far East. Formerly part of the Siberian Federal District, it has been administered as part of the Far Eastern Federal District since 2018. To its nort ...
, it was built through
Sakha Republic Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia, and the largest federal subject of Russia by area. It is located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of one million ...
. The long first stage runs from Taishet to Skovorodino and the long second stage will run from Skovorodino to Kozmino. From Skovorodino the branch pipeline would extend through Mohe to Daqing, China. The long section runs from Skovorodino to the
Amur River The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ''proper'' is ...
on Russia-China border and the long section runs from Russia-China border to Daqing. There is a plan to lay a parallel Yakutia–Khabarovsk–Vladivostok gas pipeline alongside the oil pipeline.


Technical features

The initial capacity of the pipeline is . By 2016 the capacity of the pipeline will be increased up to and by 2025 up to . The capacity of the link to China is and its section in the Russian territory cost US$600 million. The pipeline consist of 32 pumping stations, including 13 with tank farms with a total capacity of . For feeding pumping stations with electricity, a 35 MW power station was built near the town of Olyokminsk in the
Sakha Republic Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia, and the largest federal subject of Russia by area. It is located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of one million ...
. It is fired by the crude oil from the ESPO pipeline. The power station is designed for independent operation in demanding Arctic temperature conditions. The terminal at Kozmino has a tank farm with a capacity of . The loading capacity of the terminal is . The first stage was built by Systema SpecStroy, Krasnodarstroytransgaz, Vostok Story, Promstroy, Amerco Int. and IP Set Spb. Five 16V32 crude oil-fired engines for the pipeline-related power station were delivered in summer 2008 by
Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish corporation, Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the Marine propulsion, marine and energy markets. The core ...
. The first stage of the pipeline cost US$12.27 billion and the export terminal cost $1.74 billion.


Resource base

The pipeline is supplied from the oil fields of
Tomsk Oblast Tomsk Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It lies in the southeastern West Siberian Plain, in the southwest of the Siberian Federal District. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited loca ...
and the
Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra, also known as Khanty-Mansia (Khantia-Mansia), is a federal subject of Russia (an autonomous okrug of Tyumen Oblast). It has a population of 1,532,243 as of the 2010 Census. Its administrative center is lo ...
in Western Siberia along the existing Omsk–Irkutsk pipeline that joins the ESPO pipeline in Taishet, as well as oil provinces of Eastern Siberia. At the initial stage 22 million tons of oil is supplied by Rosneft and 8 million tons by Surgutneftegas.


Controversies


Embezzlement allegations

In November 2010, one of the minor shareholders of Transneft,
Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (, ; 4 June 197616 February 2024) was a Russian Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposition leader, anti-corruption in Russia, corruption activist and political prisoner. He founded the Anti-Corruption Found ...
, accused the company management of engaging in a US$4 billion embezzlement during the construction of the pipeline. These accusations were denied by
Nikolay Tokarev Nikolay Petrovich Tokarev (; born 20 December 1950) is a Russian businessman and oligarch. He is the president of the Russian pipeline company Transneft. Early life and KGB In 1973, Tokarev graduated from Karaganda Polytechnic Institute (KarP ...
, head of Transneft.


Dispute with CNPC

In 2011, a dispute rose over payments for oil delivery through the pipeline. While Transneft has charged CNPC with violating their supply contract, CNPC is not acknowledging these claims. The contract stipulate the monthly volumes of oil according to the agreed price formula, which is less than the spot price of oil.


See also

* Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline * Subfluvial tunnel ESPO and Lena River


References


External links


The Oil pipeline system Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean
Transneft website {{DEFAULTSORT:Eastern Siberia - Pacific Ocean Oil Pipeline Oil pipelines in Russia Energy in the Russian Far East Buildings and structures in the Russian Far East Energy in Siberia Buildings and structures in Siberia Transneft China–Russia relations