Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the first oil had flowed through Rosneft’s new Vostok Oil pipeline to the Bukhta Sever terminal for tanker loading. The project links fields in the Krasnoyarsk region to the Arctic port, whose annual handling capacity Putin put at 30 million tonnes. He said the crude would head toward Asia-Pacific or Europe. The launch followed his order that week to make the Arctic route navigable year-round by 2036.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that the first crude had flowed through the newly commissioned main pipeline at Rosneft’s Vostok Oil project. He said the oil had reached the Bukhta Sever port terminal, also called Sever Bay, from the Krasnoyarsk region for tanker loading. EFE reported that Putin authorised crude to be pumped into a tanker at the launch, which he attended by video link.[1], [2]
The pipeline connects the Payakha and Vankor oil fields to the Arctic port of Bukhta Sever. Putin put the terminal’s annual handling capacity at 30 million tonnes and said the project’s oil reserves were estimated at 7 billion tonnes. Congratulating Rosneft head Igor Sechin at the launch, he described the commissioning of the main pipeline as a major milestone in developing Vostok Oil.[1], [2]
Putin said the loaded tanker would break through ice toward the Asia-Pacific region or Europe. During the same week, he had addressed the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok and issued an order on Arctic navigation. He called for the route to be made navigable throughout all twelve months of the year by 2036.[2]
