Baltic Pipeline System

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Pipelines of Eastern Europe
Pipelines of Eastern Europe

The Baltic Pipeline System (BPS) is a Russian oil transport system operated by oil pipeline company Transneft. The BPS transports oil from the Timan-Pechora region, West Siberia and the Urals-Volga region to Primorsk oil terminal at the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland.

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[edit] History

The project started in 1997 and the construction was completed in December 2001. In April 2006, the Baltic Pipeline System reached to its full design capacity of 1.3-million-barrel (210,000 m³) of oil a day.[1]

[edit] Technical features

Main elements of the Baltic Pipeline System are:

  • Yaroslavl-Kirishi pipeline
  • Kirishi pumping station
  • Kirishi-Primorsk pipeline
  • Oil terminal in Primorsk.[2]

[edit] Controversy

During planning and construction stages, the project was criticized by environmentalists, mainly because of Baltic Sea status as a particularly sensitive sea area and Primorsk port’s proximity to the Beryozovye Islands nature reserve, a major bird sanctuary protected by the Ramsar Convention.[3]

[edit] BPS-2

 This article or section contains information about a planned or proposed pipeline.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the construction and/or completion of the pipeline approaches, and more information becomes available.

The Baltic Pipeline System-2 (BPS-2) is a planned second trunk line of the system. The pipeline will run from the Unecha junction of the Druzhba pipeline near the Russia-Belarus border almost 1,000 kilometers through Bryansk, Pskov, and Leningrad oblasts to the Ust-Luga terminal.[4][5] The throughput capacity of BPS-2 will be 50 to 75 million tons annually. According to Transneft’s vice-president Sergei Grigoriyev, the pipeline can be completed within 18 months and the construction cost is estimated at US$2 to US$2.5 billion.[5] The project was proposed after the oil dispute between Russia and Belarus at the beginning of January 2007, and it was approved by the Russian government on 21 May 2007.[4][6] Although in April 2008 Russia's Ministry of Industry and Energy submitted to the government its negative conclusions regarding the pipeline[7], on 14 May 2008, Vladimir Putin confirmed that the pipeline will be constructed and the terminal will be located in Ust-Luga rather than in Primorsk, as was previously expected.[8]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Baltic Pipeline System Set To Reduce Transit Dependency", St. Petersburg Times, 2006-04-11. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  2. ^ "The Baltic Pipeline System – the key federal project in the Leningrad Region", Leningrad Oblast Administration. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  3. ^ Sergei Grivenkov. "What impact will a new port in the Baltic have on the environment?", Journal Evropa, December 2000. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  4. ^ a b "PM Fradkov orders second leg of Baltic Pipeline System", RIA Novosti, 2007-05-21. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  5. ^ a b Vladimir Socor. "Russia to redirect massive oil volumes from Druzhba to Baltic pipeline", Eurasia Daily Monitor, 2007-05-24. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  6. ^ Kostis Geropoulos. "BPS-2 to redirect oil volumes from Druzhba pipeline", New Europe, 2007-05-26. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  7. ^ "Russia Pipeline Extends Reach", Iran Daily, 2008-05-24. Retrieved on 2008-06-08. 
  8. ^ "Ust-Luga to Be Oil Pipeline System Route's Final Point", Red Orbit, 2008-05-14. Retrieved on 2008-06-07. 

[edit] External links