19.05.03

PricewaterhouseCoopers proposes to supply oil through Odessa-Brody

PricewaterhouseCoopers has developed a draft business plan for the Odessa-Brody oil transport system involving the transportation of oil through this pipeline, and also through other existing and planned pipelines, to refineries in the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany, PwC representatives Phillip Natman and Robert Paterson said at a presentation of the concept in Kyiv on Friday.

It is planned that the business plan will be implemented in three stages. At the first stage the pipeline will transport 7 million tonnes of oil per annum, at the second state - 11 million tonnes and at the third - 19 million tonnes.

The first stage involves the transportation of oil through the Odessa- Brody pipeline and onwards throughout other pipelines, particularly the Druzhba pipe, to a refinery in Kralupy (the Czech republic), with a capacity of 3 million tonnes per annum, and to two refineries in southern Germany - in Ingolstadt (capacity - 5.3 million tonnes per annum) and in Warburg (11.3 million tonnes). These refineries have a refining reserve of 3 million tonnes, 3 million tonnes and one million tonnes respectively, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

At the second stage it is planned to transport oil to a refinery in Austria with a capacity of 8 million tonnes and to a refinery in Karlsruhe in southern Germany (14.2 million tonnes per annum). It is planned to transport 2 million tonnes of low-sulfur oil each to these refineries.

During the third stage it is planned to transport oil via the Odessa- Brody pipeline and onwards through its extension, planned to be built on the territory of Poland, to Plotsk and onwards to the German port of Wilhelmshafen on the Black Sea. On the Swedt-Wilhelmshafen section of this route there are several refineries that refined a total of 52 million tonnes of oil in 2002. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates, the refining reserve at these refineries amounts to about 8 million tonnes per annum.

PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ukrtransnafta signed a contract to develop a business plan, the aim of which is to start commercial operation of the Odessa-Brody pipeline, in December 2002.

As reported earlier, Ukrnafta CEO Alexander Todiichuk said that the company would start to implement the business plan for the pipeline in December this year - at the start of 2004.

The first phase of the Odessa-Brody oil transport system was launched in May 2002, with a capacity of 9 million - 14.5 million tonnes of oil.

The Yuzhny oil terminal is capable of handling tankers with deadweight of up to 100,000 tonnes. It is planned to increase the capacity of the pipeline to 40 million - 45 million tonnes per annum. Oil is not currently transported from Odessa to Brody.