Russo-foreign group plans big Russian pipeline

A group of Russian and foreign oil companies have disclosed plans to develop a pipeline network from the Timan-Pechora oil fields in Russia's Komi republic and Nenets autonomous okrug either to a new port at Primorsk near Leningrad or to the Finnish oil terminal at Porvoo on the Gulf of Finland. Most of the Russian firms said the pipeline should go to Primorsk, but a final decision on the route has not been made.

Jan. 26, 1998

2 min read

Most of the Russian firms said the pipeline should go to Primorsk, but a final decision on the route has not been made.

The system would carry 140,000 b/d of oil, and, by 2010, its capacity could be as much as 600,000 b/d. A line to Primorsk would be 2,718 km, of which 1,885 km exists and 833 km will need to be built.

The group includes Russian firms Transneft, KomiTek, Rosneft, Slavneft, and Neftegaz; Conoco Inc., Houston; BG plc (formerly British Gas plc); Finland's Neste Oy; France's Elf Aquitaine and Total SA; and a combine of Tulsa's Williams Energy and Calgary's IPL. Other partners may be added later.

Texaco Inc. and Exxon Corp., which produce oil from Timan-Pechora fields, are not members of the consortium.

Sponsors said the project would have to carry oil from western Siberia to be profitable and were negotiating with Surgutneftegaz for additional volumes. Project cost estimates were not disclosed.

Neste and Transneft, the Russian pipeline access provider, want the line to extend to Porvoo. They have the backing of the Russian Ministry of Fuel and Energy. The Ministry of Transport and the Leningrad oblast administration support Primorsk as the pipeline's terminus.