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Construction of pipeline to connect northern, southern oil trunk lines begins in Belarus
GOMEL DISTRICT, 22 October (BelTA) – OAO Gomeltransneft Druzhba has started building an oil trunk line between Gomel and Gorki, BelTA has learned.
Viktor Konnov, an experienced arc welder of the Neftespetstroy branch of the Belarusian industrial group Belorusneft, made the first welding seam on a DN500 pipe of the new trunk line near the agrotown of Bobovichi, Gomel District. A modern orbital welding complex was used in the process. Another complex like that will be delivered and put to use soon.
Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Nazarov, Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian state petrochemical concern Belneftekhim Vitaly Milevich, Chairman of the Gomel Oblast Executive Committee Gennady Solovei, Gomeltransneft Druzhba Director General Oleg Borisenko, and Belorusneft Director General Aleksandr Lyakhov left their signatures near the first welding seam of the new oil trunk line.
The new trunk line will connect the southern branch of the Belarusian oil transport system and the northern one. The Gomel-Gorki line will be 207km long and will cross Gomel District, Buda-Koshelevo District, Chechersk District, and Korma District in Gomel Oblast as well as Cherikov District, Slavgorod District, and Krichev District in Mogilev Oblast. The new trunk line will help diversify the import of crude oil.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Nazarov, the advisability and significance of investment projects is not always measured by their cost. “The cost of this investment project is not that big but this project is significant because it will connect two oil tank farms in Mozyr and in Polotsk. It will enable the safety and maneuverability of the two large oil storage facilities. We are also modernizing them and expanding their oil storage capacity. It is necessary to secure a permanent supply of raw materials and an uninterrupted operation of the two Belarusian oil refineries regardless of various factors,” he said.
The Gomel-Gorki trunk line will serve as kind of a connecting link between the trunk lines Unecha-Polotsk and Unecha-Mozyr-Adamowo. The new trunk line will allow moving raw materials between Belarusian oil refineries and delivering oil from alternative sources. It will help resolve the problem of diversification of crude oil deliveries and will help avoid transportation dependences. It will help form strategic reserves of hydrocarbon resources in Belarusian tank farms.
Gomel Oblast Governor Gennady Solovei also remarked upon the significance of the project for the region and the country as a whole. He noted that the new trunk line will allow supplying Mozyr Oil Refinery with the necessary volume of raw materials. The governor wished success with the first welding seam and with the implementation of the entire investment project.
The new trunk line will be able to transport 6 million tonnes of oil per annum. The approximate cost of the investment project OAO Gomeltransneft Druzhba finances out of its own pocket stands at Br300 million. Belorusneft is the general contractor. Belneftekhim enterprises will take care of virtually all the work the project needs.
Cutting-edge construction equipment and machines will be used during the project, including cranes with off-road capabilities. The project provides for building 75 overpasses over railway lines, motorways, rivers and melioration canals. As much as 85km of the trunk line will be built in forest areas. Plans have been made to build a new oil pump station and reconstruct the oil pump station Gomel and the line operation dispatcher station Gorki.
The new trunk line is supposed to be commissioned in approximately September 2022.
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