The first section of the Siberian-Pacific oil pipeline will enter service on Monday, part of a network that will ultimately carry crude to China, the head of Russian oil group Transneft said Thursday. "The pipeline will become operational on December 28," Nikolai Tokarev said in a report carried by Russian news agencies.
The 2,964-kilometre (1,853-mile) section will link Taichet in eastern Siberia with Skovorodino in the Amour region of the Russian far east. A second section will run from Skovorodino to Kozmino Bay near Nakhodka in the Russian far east. Tokarev said bidding for the construction of the second section would be opened in the next 10 days. The 67-kilometre branch from Skovorodino will initially carry 15 million tonnes of oil a year to northern China. It is scheduled to become operational next year.