Pipeliners

MOSCOW, April 17 (RIA Novosti) - The first credit tranche for construction of an oil pipeline running from East Siberia to the Pacific Ocean will be worth $7.22 billion, the industry and energy minister said Monday. Viktor Khristenko said the board of directors of state-owned pipeline monopoly Transneft were working on the credit, and added that investments would come from Russian as well as foreign creditors. "The markets will be different, to make it cheaper and minimize credit risks," Khristenkko said, adding that construction of the pipeline would start before the end of April. The pipeline is expected to pump up to 80 million metric tons a year (1.6 mln of bbl/d) from Siberia to the Russian Far East before being sent on to the Asia-Pacific region, in particular to energy-hungry China. The first stage of construction was initially expected to be completed by the end of 2008. The pipeline has run into controversy, though, particularly over a stretch projected to run less than 800 meters from Lake Baikal, the world's largest body of fresh water and a Unesco World Heritage Site. Environmental groups have said that Baikal's delicate ecosystem could face massive damage in case of oil leakages or accidents on the pipeline.