Russia Begins Oil Shipments to China via East Siberian-Pacific Ocean Pipeline

On January 1st, Russia began shipments of crude oil to China via an East Siberian-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline.  According to Igor Dyomin, a spokesman for Russian oil monopoly Transneft, "[w]e plan to pump 1.3 million tons of oil [to China] in January."  Crude oil market participants expect the ESPO pipeline to double Russia's oil sales to China, which had totaled 12.8 million tons for the first ten months of 2010.  At a cost of $25 billion, the ESPO pipeline is the largest infrastructure project in post-Soviet Russia.  Its second stage is expected to be complete in 2013, and at 4,070 km, the ESPO pipeline will be the world's longest.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/russia-china-open-milestone-pipeline/428061.html