Russia shifts the center of the world oil markets to Asia

In the last decade of December, the second stage of the Eastern Siberia — Pacific Ocean oil pipeline will be launched. According to experts, this will accelerate creating a new global oil brand — ESPO (Eastern Siberia — Pacific Ocean).

The second branch of the pipeline will connect the oil fields of Western and Eastern Siberia with the port of Kozmino in Primorye. Since 2009, oil has been transported there by rail and loaded onto tankers for export to the Asia-Pacific markets. From the last decade of December, the railway will be replaced by the oil pipeline. It will increase export deliveries from 15 to 50 million tons of oil products per year. Another 15 million tons of oil per year are sold to China via the Skovorodino-Mohe pipeline. The total design capacity of 80 million tons is a weighty application for recognition of oil from Western and Eastern Siberia as a world benchmark, along with the European Brent, the American WTI grade and the Russian Urals, President of the Institute for Energy and Finance Vladimir Feigin said:

«80 million tons is a very large volume that can be maneuvered during the transit of oil through two branches. The large volume of oil already supplied to foreign consumers has led to creating a new tradable grade of oil — ESPO. Buyers have noticed that the oil that goes in this direction — and this is oil from Western and Eastern Siberia — it is of better quality than Urals. It is cleaner and lighter, there is less sulfur. So as the volume of oil sold increases and will continue to grow, the chances of a new global oil marker will increase dramatically.»