Baltic Pipeline System

Summary

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

Baltic Pipeline System
Location of Baltic Pipeline System
Location of Baltic Pipeline System
Location
CountryRussia
General directionsouth-north-west
FromYaroslavl
Passes throughKirishi
ToPrimorsk
Runs alongsideSever Pipeline
General information
TypeOil
OperatorTransneft
Commissioned2001
Technical information
Maximum discharge76.5 million tons per year

History edit

The project started in 1997 and construction was completed in December 2001. In April 2006 the Baltic Pipeline System reached full design capacity.[1]

Technical features edit

Main elements of the BPS-1 are:

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

The capacity of the BPS-1 is 76.5 million tons of oil per year.[1]

Controversy edit

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

BPS-2 edit

The Baltic Pipeline System-2 (BPS-2) is a second trunk line of the system running from the Unecha junction of the Druzhba pipeline near the Russia-Belarus border to the Ust-Luga terminal on the Gulf of Finland with a 172 kilometres (107 mi) long branch line to the Kirishi oil refinery. The construction of the BPS-2 started on 10 June 2009[4] and it entered in function in late March 2012.[5]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Baltic Pipeline System Set To Reduce Transit Dependency". St. Petersburg Times. 2006-04-11. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
  2. ^ "The Baltic Pipeline System – the key federal project in the Leningrad Region". Leningrad Oblast Administration. Archived from the original on 2012-12-22. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
  3. ^ Sergei Grivenkov (December 2000). "What impact will a new port in the Baltic have on the environment?". Journal Evropa. Archived from the original on 2008-05-31. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
  4. ^ "Russia builds Baltic oil pipeline to bypass Belarus". EurActiv. 2009-06-11. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  5. ^ "Czech concerns over the future of the Druzhba oil pipeline". 18 April 2012.

External links edit

  • Baltic Pipeline System - environmental safety and reliability, Transneft

60°20′07″N 28°42′54″E / 60.3353°N 28.7150°E / 60.3353; 28.7150