LUKoil head says Russia needs more oil pipelines

Russia is desperately in need of new backbone oil pipelines and oil terminals with a capacity of 130m up to 150m tons a year and the cost of $10bn to $15bn, LUKoil President Vaghit Alekperov reported in his speech to students of the St. Petersburg State Mining Institute today. He noted it was almost impossible to attract necessary investments for the development of domestic transport infrastructure, i.e. for the construction and operation of backbone pipelines.

According to the LUKoil President, the state monopoly on the construction and operation of pipelines can result in a deficit of energy resources on the domestic market. Currently, oil companies have all the necessary resources for producing 500 up to 550m tons of oil a year by 2010, Alekperov was quoted as saying. The only factor hampering these developments is the lack of necessary transport facilities, he stressed.

In 2002, Russia increased oil production by 9 percent to 379m tons against 2001.