Russian Companies to Export 70Mln Tonnes of High-Sulfur Oil in 2016

Russian oil companies' total export of high-sulfur oil will amount to 70 million tonnes (77 US tons) in 2016, according to the Transneft oil pipeline company’s materials.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the documents presented at the Thursday meeting of a working group for the monitoring of oil quality, the Russian oil exports are expected to amount to 72 million tonnes in 2017 and to 72.6 million tonnes in 2018.

The company also noted reduction in high-sulfur oil processing at Russian oil refineries. It will reach 15.3 million tonnes in 2018, while pipeline system deliveries will account for 87.9 million tonnes in the same year.

Admission of high-sulfur oil to the main Transneft oil pipelines system amounted to 82.1 million tonnes in 2014, while 20.1 million tonnes have been  refined. Up to 85.6 million tonnes of the high-sulfur oil is expected to enter the system later this year, while 15.5 million tonnes are expected to be refined.

According to Igor Katzal, the deputy vice-president of Transneft, Refineries of Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and Samara group have substantially reduced oil processing. A proposal to supply high-sulfur oil in a separate export stream, in order to improve the quality of oil export grade, has not yet been approved by the Russian authorities, Katzal told RIA Novosti.