OREANDA-NEWS. October 06, 2008. Construction of the East Siberia Pacific Ocean (ESPO) oil pipeline, a major artery to bring Russian crude oil to the ATP regional market, is truly a task of national importance. Building a raw material base to fill the ESPO is becoming a task of no lesser importance, reported the press-centre of TNK-BP.

This year, Verkhnechonskneftegas, a subsidiary of TNK-BP, completed construction and assembly of the linear portion of an oil pipeline’s from the Verkhnechonsk oil and gas condensate field to the pumping station No.10 of the ESPO oil pipeline system.

Thus, the company is ready to start oil supplies to the ESPO as soon as the oil pipeline is ready to receive the oil.

According to Mugammir Galiullin, the construction cost of the oil pipeline from the field to the ESPO totals circa RUR 7 bn, which includes the pipeline itself as well as the power transmission and communication lines near the pipeline route. He specified that the total length of the oil pipeline to the ESPO tie-in point amounts to 89 km.

Crude supplies to the ESPO pipeline system will start simultaneously to commission of its reverse section. By that moment, 19 wells are planned to be brought into production. By end of 2008, their number is planned to be raised to 26. By late December, the total operating well stock of VChNG is to reach 42 wells.

In mid-September, oil treatment section No. 1 was commissioned at the field enabling conditioning of the Verchnechonsk crude oil. Currently, assembly of equipment and adjustments are being completed at the VChNG Crude Oil Quality and Quantity Measuring System of the crude oil delivery and acceptance point. By end 2008, VChNG is planning to supply to the ESPO up to 200 kt of crude oil. 

Development of the Verkhnechonsk field resources is of great importance to the Irkutsk oblast where budget revenues from VChNG operations amount to over RUR 400 mln per annum. VChNG discharges additional obligations related to healthcare, culture and sports development in municipalities located in its presence area. In 2008 alone, RUR 11.8 mln was committed for social needs of the Kirensky, Katangsky and Ust-Kutsky regions.