The first tanker loaded with oil from the Timan-Pechora province this week took off from Varandey towards the Canadian port of Come By Chance, a press release from Lukoil informs. The operation marks the start of a new era of oil shipping from the eastern part of the Barents Sea.
Varandey
Oil companies Lukoil and ConocoPhillips have invested more than 4 billion USD in the Varandey terminal located north in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Oilru.com reports. The terminal is located 23 km off the coast and is connected with coastal installations and nearby oil fields with pipelines. Annual terminal capacities are 12 million tons.
The terminal has been under construction since 2006, newspaper Vedomosti reports. From before, the Murmansk Shipping Company operated a far smaller terminal in the area.
More terminals
Meanwhile, both Russian oil companies and authorities have expressed interest in the development of more port terminals along the Barents Sea coast.
In 2001, the Nenets AO administration and the Rosneftegazstroy presented an initiative on the construction of a 500 km long pipeline to “Svyatoy Mys” on the Nenets coast, however no big oil companies wanted to join the project
A year later, in 2002, Yukos, TNK and later also Transneft and Surgutneftegaz called for the construction of a major pipeline to Murmansk. The project was however turned down by Russian authorities.
Then, in 2005 state-owned oil pipeline monopoly Transneft presented the initiative to construct a pipeline from Kharyaga to Indiga in the Nenets AO. Progress in this project however remains unclear, Vedomosti reports.
