Belarus starts building first segment of Gomel-Gorki trunk oil pipeline

<p> Belarus starts building first segment of Gomel-Gorki trunk oil pipeline </p> <p>   </p> <p> MINSK, Oct 22 - PrimePress. The Belarusian oil pipeline system operator Gomeltransneft Druzhba on Oct 22 started the construction of the first segment of the Gomel-Gorki trunk oil pipeline. </p> <p>   </p> <p> Belorusneft acts as the general contractor for the Gomel-Gorki oil pipeline project. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The cost of the project is roughly estimated at Br300 million ($116.4 million at the exchange rate of the National Bank of Belarus). </p> <p>   </p> <p> The construction of the Gomel-Gorki trunk oil pipeline, which will connect the southern and northern branches of the Druzhba trunk oil pipeline in Belarus, as well as the two oil refineries Naftan OJSC (Novopolotsk, Vitebsk Oblast) and Mozyr Refinery (Gomel Oblast), will be launched on Nov 1, 2020. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The pipeline’s maximum annual capacity shall be 6 million tonnes. </p> <p>   </p> <p> They plan to lay 207 km of the main pipeline with a diameter of 530 mm and to build an intermediate station. The construction of the pipeline includes 12 stages, including nine linear stages, the tenth stage - the Gomel Oil Pumping Station, the eleventh stage - the Gorki Pumping Station, and the twelfth stage - the construction of an intermediate station (it will be necessary when the pumping capacity exceeds 4 million tonnes per year). There are also plans to reconstruct two already operating stations, Gomel and Gorki. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The Belarusian authorities are diversifying oil supplies against the background of periodic price disputes with Russia, the main and traditional supplier. While continuing to purchase Russian crude oil via the Druzhba trunk oil pipeline and railway, Belarus is also working with alternative routes to transport crude oil, in particular, by sea through the ports of Klaipeda and Odessa. Since the beginning of 2020, Belarus has been purchasing oil from Azerbaijan, Norway, Saudi Arabia and the USA via these routes. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The capacity of Belarus’ oil storage tank farm will increase to 1 million tonnes by 2025. The Gomel-Gorki trunk oil pipeline with a capacity of up to 6 million tonnes per year, to be completed in September 2022, will be an important factor in the expansion and operation of the tank system. </p> <p>   </p> <p> “This bridge between the southern and northern branches of the Belarusian oil transportation system will allow us to quickly connect the two refineries and transfer oil flows between at least these two largest reservoirs,” Vice Prime Minister Yuri Nazarov told journalists at the opening ceremony, BelTA reports citing Nazarov as saying. End </p>

2020-10-23

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