IPC can export 10–20 mln tns of oil/yr by Northeast Passage

MOSCOW, Mar 4 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Independent Petroleum Company (IPC) can discover a large oil deposit in the Payakha group and is considering building a pipeline to the Arctic Ocean to pump 10–20 million tonnes of oil per year, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Dmitry Kobylkin told reporters on Monday.

“We have recently been talking about the resource base of the Northeast Passage. Payakha is seen as one of the locations where we could make a pipeline to pump oil across the Arctic Ocean near the Severnaya Bay,” the minister said.

“And take 10–20 million tonnes of oil, ranging in accordance with various forecasts. This is a very serious addition (to the traffic on the Northeast Passage). We have not received an official confirmation yet.”

Under the project, IPC plans to invest U.S. $20.6 billion in production of oil at the Payakhskoye and Severo-Payakhskoye fields on the Taimyr Peninsula. IPC plans to start the production in 2023.

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