MOSCOW, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- The inauguration of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline eases the dependence on transit nations, the Russian prime minister said Tuesday.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin inaugurated the ESPO oil pipeline during a ceremony at the Kozmino oil terminal on Monday, calling the "strategic project" a victory for Moscow.
Putin again hailed the project as a way for Russia to protect its transport options from potential problems with nations that host pipelines carrying Russia's natural resources, Russia's state-owned RIA Novosti news service reports.
"We are moving from excessive dependence on (oil) transiting countries," said Putin.
He added oil producers were scrambling to court Moscow in order to ferry their crude reserves through the oil pipeline.
The first leg of ESPO is designed to carry 220.5 million barrels of oil per year along a route starting in East Siberia and then some 1,713 miles east.
A second leg is envisioned to carry 367.5 million barrels of oil per year along a 1,300-mile route to the Pacific Ocean.
