Russia has exported some 210 million tons of oil last year.
A Rosneft delegation, led by President Sergei Bogdanchikov, took part in today's ceremony to mark the introduction of the new oil export scheme.
"Now, in addition to the traditional southern export gates in Novorosiisk and Tuapse [ports on Russia's Black Sea coast], northern export gates are opening in Archangelsk and [the Barents Sea port of] Murmansk," Bogdanchik said.
The ceremony was held on board the Belokamenka, off the Murmansk shores. This is Russia's largest oil tanker: it is 350 meters long and 50 meters wide, 40-meter-high deck, tonnage - 360,000 tons.
Under the new export scheme, Russian oil will be loaded into small tankers at the Archangelsk port and taken to the Belokamenka tanker for transshipment into large export tankers, with a capacity of up to 200,000 tons. These tankers will deliver the oil to ports in Europe and America. The scheme will provide a closed-loop supply chain, with oil going directly from the well to the tanker to the consumer.
Rosneft is presently carrying out large-scale renovation of a transit base in Archangelsk. The first leg of the works has now been completed, bringing the main terminal's capacity to 2.5 million tons of oil per year. One more terminal, with the same capacity, will be put into operation with the completion of the second leg, due in 2005. Rosneft plans to send at least 2.1 million of oil, recovered in the Timan-Pechora oil- and gas-bearing province, through the Archangelsk port before the end of this year.
The Belokamenka tanker is expected to play a crucial role in organizing transportation schemes for the delivery of oil from deposits whose development has just begun, like ones in Eastern Siberia and in the shelf areas of Russia's Arctic seas, the Rosneft President said.
