OREANDA-NEWS. August 18, 2010.  Imports of Russian oil have gone from zero to an estimated 100,000 barrels a day in a matter of months since a pipeline bringing crude from deep inside Eastern Siberia came online.

The influx has held down fuel prices in places like California, which often has the highest gasoline prices in the U.S. Traders have been caught off guard because the oil pipeline was built to target fast-growing Asian markets. Few people expected to see so many tanker loads reach U.S. shores.

Russia, which only recently joined the list of the top oil exporters to the U.S., is set to climb those rankings thanks to the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline, or ESPO.

"Russian crude will be important, " said Amrita Sen, a commodities analyst for Barclays Capital in London. Ms. Sen said members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Which historically have been key suppliers to the U.S., are sending more of their oil to Asia. "The U.S., on its part, is also diversifying its sources, " she said.

Today, Tesoro Corp., one of the largest refiners on the U.S. West Coast, is testing the ESPO oil to see if it can be added to the mix of blends that are processed into products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

"This is one that potentially has some more positive benefits" Tesoro Chief Executive Bruce Smith said in April, referring to the quality and attractive pricing of the ESPO crude-oil blend.

After shaking up Asian energy markets since its opening last year, the ESPO pipeline is challenging Alaskan oil, underscoring once again Russia's potential to throw established trading patterns into disarray.

The pipeline is expected to revive Russian production growth, giving the nation a way to ship Eastern Siberian oil overseas.