BEIJING, March 8 (UPI) -- Construction of the Eastern-Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline to the Sea of Japan will be completed by the end of 2010, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
ESPO would transit more than 2,000 miles from Eastern Siberia to move Russian oil to China.
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.
ESPO would move 1.6 million barrels of crude oil per day to Asian customers. A 680-mile leg of the pipeline opened in October.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said during the weekend that construction would be finished by the end of the year, Russia's state-funded news agency RIA Novosti reports.
Oil shipments from Eastern Siberia reach the region by rail currently.
The Chinese official said the leg of ESPO running through his country would start shipping oil in 2011.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin inaugurated the ESPO oil pipeline during a ceremony at the Kozmino oil terminal Dec. 28, calling the "strategic project" a victory for Moscow. Yang said the project was a symbol of the strong diplomatic ties between Beijing and Moscow.
