OREANDA-NEWS. July 18, 2008. TNK-BP will reorient almost half of all oil produced in the Samotlor field to the east for filling the Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean oil pipeline, which is currently under construction. Rosneft will send oil to the Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean pipeline from the Vankor field (in the Krasnoyarsk Krai), reported the press-centre of TNK-BP.

These companies signed as agreement yesterday on performance of swap operations and coordinated it with Transneft. As a result, the transportation company will not have to extend the pipeline running from Omsk to the east, which would presumably cost approximately \\\\$1 billion.

So far, the cooperation between Rosneft and TNK-BP has been limited to Rosneft’s purchase of a blocking share of the Verkhnechonsk field controlled by TNK-BP in the Irkutsk Region and BP’s purchase of approximately 1% of shares of Rosneft. Now, when the Eastern Siberia –Pacific Ocean oil pipeline may be reversed (until its second line is built), the companies agreed to perform swap operations.

The Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean oil pipeline, construction of the first line of which was started in spring 2006, will connect oilfields of Western and Eastern Siberia with the Pacific Ocean coast. The rated throughput capacity of this oil pipeline, which is more than 4,770 km long, is 80 million tons a year.

According to the schedule, construction of the first line from Taishet to Skovorodino (in the Amursk Region) will be completed in early 2010. The throughput capacity of this line will be 30 million tons a year. However, Transneft is going to complete all works for construction of the first segment of the Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean oil pipeline from the Verkhnechonsk field towards the Angarsk Petrochemical Company by this fall and reverse the pipeline in September.

Beginning from this September, supplies will be made according to the following scheme: TNK-BP will start supplies from the Verkhnechonsk field to the Angarsk Petrochemical Company controlled by Rosneft. Oil produced by the state company Rosneft in the Vakor field (up to 13 million tons a year) will be processed at the Ryazan Refinery owned by the Russian-British consortium.

After 2010, when the Eastern Siberia –Pacific Ocean oil pipeline starts operation in the forward direction, the agreement signed yesterday will switch to another scheme of supplies. No changes will be made in supplies from the Vakor field. TNK-BP will transport oil from the Samotlor field (up to 13 million tons a year out of 28 million tons that will be annually produced in this field by that time) through the existing oil pipeline to Taishet and then through the Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean oil pipeline. Some of the supplies will go to the Angarsk Petrochemical Company. The agreement is signed until 2015 with a prolongation option.

“This is the first time when two state companies and one private company are performing swap operations of this scale,” said Vladimir Bobylev, official representative of TNK-BP, to Vremya Novostei. “We have launched an efficient mechanism that will help us avoid unnecessary expenditures.” Representatives of Transneft are sure that this agreement will raise the efficient of oil supplies, save the parties from unnecessary expenditures related to transportation of oil over long distances, make construction of additional transportation infrastructure facilities unnecessary, and get rid of risks related to bottlenecks of the transportation system.

Approximately 300,000 tons of oil will be produced in the Verkhnechonsk field this year and about 1 million tons in 2009. Rosneft is going to produce 1.9 million tons of oil in the Vankor field this year and increase oil production in this field up to 15,6 million tons by 2010.