PIPELINE
BALTIC PIPELINE SYSTEM
Baltic Pipeline System-2 (BPS-2) is a Russian oil supply system built and operated by Transneft, a government-owned company responsible for oil pipelines in the country, in conjunction and full co-operation with Oil Refineries and Tankfarms.
The pipeline is 727miles (1,170km) long, running from the Unecha town of Unechsky District, Bryansk Oblast, to Ust-Luga, Leningrad Oblast, via Smolensk, Russia.
The oil pipeline is being built in two stages. The first stage was officially commissioned in March 2012 by the current Russian President Vladimir Putin. The second stage reached completion in December 2013. The construction cost of BPS-2 is estimated at $4bn.
Transneft, Rosneftbunker, are the joint operators of BPS-2 trunk line.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
The second Baltic Pipeline System project started taking shape after differences over an oil transit broke out between Russia and Belarus in early 2007. The transit disputes between the two countries have damaged Russia’s impression as a reliable supplier of oil and gas to Europe.
The completion of the second trunk line is now seen as a strategic victory for Moscow. The pipeline will also reduce the country’s dependency on former USSR transit countries and will optimise the workload of the existing oil pipeline system in the country.
TECHNICAL DETAILS OF THE RUSSIAN PIPELINE
Stage one of the Baltic Pipeline System-2 is designed to carry 30 million tons of oil per year. The completion of the second stage will enable the pipeline to transport additional 20 million tons of oil per annum.
“Stage one of the Baltic Pipeline System-2 is designed to carry 30 million tons of oil per year.”Diameter of the pipeline for the first 473 miles (761.2km) is 42in, and thereafter becomes 40in.
The project includes a total of eight pumping stations. Two new pumping stations were constructed and two existing pump stations were overhauled in the first stage. The remaining stations will be added in the second stage of the project.
The number 7 pumping station will be provided with an oil depot with a capacity to store 80,000m3 of oil.
ROUTE OF THE EUROPEAN OIL TRUNK LINE
The BPS-2 oil pipeline originates from the Druzhba pipeline junction, the longest oil pipeline in the world, at Unecha, near the Russian border with Belarus. It terminates at the merchant seaport of Ust-Luga located on the Gulf of Finland, Leningrad region.The linear length of the pipeline from Unecha to Ust-Luga is about 621 miles (999.5km) and the length of the lateral line that leads to Kirishi oil refinery in Leningrad Oblast is about 106 miles (170.5).
The pipeline passes through the Russian provinces of Bryansk, Smolensk, Tver, Novgorod and Leningrad.The Ust-Luga terminal was selected as the termination point of the pipeline for several reasons. The Gulf of Finland, the easternmost realm of the Baltic Sea, is characterised by a short ice-over period and can be easily accessed by other major ports situated in Northern Europe.
Another advantage is that the Ust – Luga port offers congestion-free transportation unlike the congested St. Petersburg Port. The port is also being developed with modern and new infrastructure. Further, there is a plan to build highways and railway lines to beef up transportation infrastructure between the port and important commercial centers located in north western part of the country.
