Russia plans to export petroleum to China through the Atasu-Ala-Shankou section of the oil pipeline from Kazakhstan and China, said Semyon Vainshtok, president of Russia's Transneft on Nov. 17.

Vainshtok said Russia will first transport oil to Kazakhstan via the Omsk (Russia)-Pavlodar (Kazakhstan) pipeline and then to China.

Rosneft has filed application to Transneft on the proposed oil export increase.

Russia's Lukoil Company also expressed wish to export oil to China through the Atasu-Ala-Shankou pipeline.

Kazakh Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Vladimir Shkolnik pointed out that the Atasu-Ala-Shankou section will be completed on Dec. 16 this year. Its designed capacity is 20 million tons and that of the first phase is 10 million tons.

He said, the pipeline will be available to oil companies of both Kazakhstan and Russia which have intention to export oil to China.

Russia's oil export to China is now undertaken by Russian Railways.

Statistics from the company show in the first ten months this year, Russia exported 6.4 million tons of petroleum to China through railway, up 30.7 percent year-on-year.

Insiders say China-Kazakhstan oil pipeline will help Russia achieve its 15-million-ton goal of oil export to China next year.

By People's Daily Online