Putin hails link to ESPO pipeline

BLAGOVESHCHENSK, Russia, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Building a 2,000-mile oil pipeline to markets in China will give diversity to the Russian energy sector, the Russian prime minister said.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin took part in a weekend ceremony in eastern Russia to mark the opening ceremony for a section of the Russia-China oil pipeline, Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti reports.

Putin described the project as vital for energy diversification strategies under examination in Moscow.

"The implementation of this project is a crucial task for Russia and our Chinese friends," he was quoted as saying. "It means stabilization of supplies and energy balance for China and for us it creates entry to new challenging markets, in this particular case, to the growing market of China."

The Russia-China oil pipeline will stretch from the Amur region in southeast Russia to Heilongjiang province in northeastern China.

The pipeline is part of the East Siberia-Pacific oil pipeline. 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 from starting in East Siberia and then about 1,700 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.

Oil shipments from Eastern Siberia reach the region by rail currently.