MOSCOW, July 9 (UPI) -- Crude oil deliveries through the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline are putting pressure on traditional Gulf suppliers of oil, government records suggest.
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.
ESPO travels from Eastern Siberia to send Russian oil to China. Combined, ESPO could move nearly 600 million barrels of oil to Asian markets each year.
The governments of South Korea and Japan said their imports of Russian crude have soared in recent months, rivaling Middle East suppliers, reports Emirati newspaper The National.
Low transport costs of Russian crude and the discovery of new oil fields in east Siberia pushed Russian crude over its counterpart in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the report adds.
Russian exporters, meanwhile, are not limited by OPEC production quotas meant to stabilize oil prices.
OPEC still leads in overall production, however, with 11.3 million barrels of oil exported last year compared with just 1.1 million bpd from Russia.
