RF President Vladimir Putin took part, via videoconference, in the ceremony for commissioning the Vostok Oil project – a new oil and gas province, the Kremlin press office reported. 
Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin briefed the President on the project implementation, joining the ceremony from the Bukhta Sever port, the world’s northernmost port (Taimyr Peninsula, Krasnoyarsk Territory), via video link. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak also made some comments.
During the event, the President gave a go-ahead for the first crude oil loading into the Arctic tanker “Valentin Pikul”.
“The new oil pipeline and the port terminal will make it possible to increase shipments along the Northern Sea Route. Last year, 37 million tons of cargoes were transported along the route, and by the end of the current decade annual cargo flow should reach 70 million tons a year, i.e. almost double the current amount,” Vladimir Putin noted. 
“The implementation of the Vostok Oil project is part of large‑scale efforts to develop Siberia, the Arctic, and the Far East, including the creation of the Trans‑Arctic Transport Corridor. It will create a single route by linking the Baltic region, the Arctic and the Far East, opening a short, profitable, and – this is crucially important in the current challenging international situation – a reliable and safe path to the world’s largest markets. It will enable us to launch new major energy and other projects in the Arctic, build up the region’s industrial, raw material, and production base, and not only to extract but also to process natural resources here,” the President stressed.
“New icebreakers and ice‑class vessels are being built for year‑round navigation along the Trans‑Arctic Transport Corridor. By 2030, the domestic icebreaker fleet will be augmented by three serial universal nuclear‑powered icebreakers of the Arktika project and the ultra‑powerful nuclear icebreaker “Rossiya” of the Leader project. At the same time, we are developing the cargo and emergency rescue fleet, and the satellite constellation. The logistics infrastructure of the ports of the Baltic, Barents, and Kara seas, as well as in the Pacific Ocean, is being upgraded,” Vladimir Putin added.
“Our agenda includes integration of the Arctic sea terminals with railway and inland waterways, expansion of opportunities for uninterrupted northern supply to the Arctic regions, and for coastwise and transit transportation of goods from Central Russia, the Urals, and Siberia to be delivered here with imports going back”.
“We will continue to systematically and consistently build a modern, convenient logistics space for the Arctic and Far Eastern regions,” the President said.
According to Igor Sechin, more than 2,000 of the 12,000 wells planned for the project have now been commissioned, the 790-kilometre Vankor–Payakha–Sever Bay main oil pipeline has been built to transport oil, with its annual design capacity of 100 million tons.
The project’s port complex currently includes an oil loading berth, two cargo berths, a berth for the harbour fleet, and 14 oil storage tanks, each with a capacity of 30,000 tons. At full capacity, the complex will have 102 storage tanks.
Once operational, the Vostok Oil project will deliver 30 million tons of oil to consumers as early as the second half of next year. By 2030, that figure is expected to reach 50 million tons. Further development could increase annual market supply to 100 million tons, subject to market demand and favourable economic conditions, Igor Sechin said.
Photo: Kremlin press office, Rosneft