Russia launches 2,757-km oil pipeline to Asia-Pacific

Russia, the world's largest crude exporter, today launched a 2,757-kilometre "strategic" pipeline that will supply oil to energy-hungry China and the Asia Pacific region in its bid to reduce dependency on problematic European markets.

With eyes on the growing Asian-Pacific markets and to put an end to dependency on Western customers, Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin formally inaugurated the USD12.1 billion East-Siberia-Pacific Ocean Oil (Espo) pipeline.

The Espo is designed to pump up to 1.6 million barrels of crude per day from Siberia to Russia's far east and then to China and the Asia-Pacific region.

"It is an important event for Russia. It is a strategic project, which enables to enter new markets in the Asia-Pacific region, where our presence was insufficient," Putin said pressing the button for loading the first crude on a waiting tanker at the newly built Kozmino oil terminal.

According to RIA Novosti, the project's first leg envisages the construction of a 2,757-kilometre section with annual capacity of 220.5 million barrels of crude. It will link Taishet, in East Siberia's Irkutsk Region, to Skovorodino, in the Amur Region, in Russia's far east.

The second stretch will run 2,100 kilometres from Skovorodino to the Pacific Ocean. Currently the crude beyond Skovorodino goes by railway to China and the Pacific Coast. When complete, it will pump 367.5 million barrels of oil annually.