Indiga port project is shaky owing to lack of potential load – expert
Implementation of the project on construction of Indiga port on the eastern coast of the Barents Sea close to a village bearing the same name, is shaky because its loading is not guaranteed, PortNews IAA learnt at an international conference Arctic Shipping held in St. Petersburg. Mikhail Grigoriev, member of coordinating council under RF President’s plenipotentiary representative in the North-West federal district explained journalists that Transneft does not consider this project to be a priority. The volumes additionally produced at Timano-Pechorsk oil-and-gas field in the nearest years may be exported via Varandei terminal (Kara Sea, LUKOIL). According to Grigoriev, as early as in 2007 Grigoriev may reach the volume of 5 million tons per year while the terminal’s potential capacity is 12 million tons. Earlier, the agency’s source in LUKOIL forecasted that introduction of major facilities of Varandei is scheduled for autumn 2007, which will enable the terminal to handle 1 million tons of export oil in 2008 (through deployment of shuttle tankers and Belokamenka terminal in Murmansk).
As for Indiga port project, Grigoriev says that in 2006 the head of Transneft was provided with calculations for loading of the new pipeline which implied no guarantees of its design loading. According to Grigoriev, Transneft decreased design capacity of the pipeline to 12 million tons per year, which corresponds to design capacity of Varandei. Grigoriev says there are no possibilities to increase oil production to load Kharyaga-Indiga oil pipeline.
