Sino-Russian oil pipeline starts trial operation

Russia's pipeline operator pumped the first shipment of crude oil into a new pipeline spur to China Monday as the two countries began testing the pipeline.

The crude oil will arrive at Mohe, the first of terminal of the pipeline in China, between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Tuesday, said an official with China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), the operator of the Chinese branch of the pipeline.

An official of China Customs said China planned to import 250,000 tons of crude from Russia in November and 300,000 tons in December. The pipeline will bring 15 million tons of crude oil across the border annually beginning Jan. 1, 2011.

The East Siberia-Pacific Ocean Pipeline was constructed in accordance with a contract between Rosneft, Transneft and CNPC, which was signed in 2009.

The pipeline is a branch of Russia's 4000-kilometer-long East Siberia-Pacific Ocean Pipeline, which runs from Taishet in Eastern Siberia to the Pacific port of Kozmino. The Chinese branch of the pipeline runs from the Chinese border town of Mohe to Daqing, both in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

According to an agreement between Russia and China, the pipeline will transport 15 million tons of crude oil annually from Russia to China from 2011 to 2030. However, the pipeline is capable of pumping twice that amount into China annually.

By Huang Beibei, People's Daily Online