Pipeliners

23 February 2007 - Upstream onLine - Moscow will delay a decision on extending a planned oil pipeline from East Siberia to the Pacific coast until it confirms there will be enough oil to fill it, a Japanese newspaper reported. "I think the reserves can be proven by the end of 2008 and then we can make the official decision on when to start construction," the Mainichi newspaper quoted Russian Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko as saying, according to Reuters. "Confirmation of reserves and production (capacity) are creating obstacles." The Russian government decided to build the Pacific pipeline in 2004 as a key part of President Vladimir Putin's plan to find new Asian export markets for Russian oil. The first part of the $11.5 billion pipeline is expected to be finished in 2008, when oil is due to start flowing. At the first stage, oil will flow from East Siberia to China by pipeline and from Skovorodino to the Pacific by railway.