The inspection of the technical condition of two sections of the Druzhba oil pipeline – Unecha-Polotsk-1 and Unecha-Polotsk-2 – was initiated in the summer, when oil spilled from a leaky pipe on one of them. After that, the Rosprirodnadzor commission issued an order to reduce the pressure in two branches of the pipe by five times. As a result, the pumping volume decreased by 12 million tons year-on-year. This is exactly the volume that Lithuania received. And the remaining 19 million tons are completely taken by Belarus. After the accident, oil began to be delivered to Lithuania by tankers. Immediately after the incident, the deputy head of Rosprirodnadzor Oleg Mitvol stated that the pipes on both branches would have to be completely replaced.

Yesterday, Rostekhnadzor reported that the expert organization “OAO VNIST” hired by the department had completed an inspection of the pipe condition. 7853 defects were found on the oil pipeline. It was established that the wall thickness of the laid pipes does not comply with construction standards and regulations on 96.6% of the length of the “Unecha – Polotsk – 1” section and on 94.8% of the “Unecha – Polotsk – 2” section. During testing of the metal of the pipes, its reduced strength characteristics were recorded. Rostekhnadzor ordered Transneft to eliminate the identified defects. As a source in this department explained to Vedomosti, the claims against the oil pipeline are such that to eliminate them, it will be necessary to completely replace the pipes in these sections.

Transneft Vice President Sergei Grigoryev confirmed receipt of the Rostekhnadzor order. He said that a work plan is currently being developed to eliminate the defects on the oil pipeline. According to Grigoryev, no deadlines are specified in the order. The Transneft top manager could not name a deadline for eliminating the defects. He only promised that the pipe would be repaired.

Troika Dialog analyst Valery Nesterov estimates the replacement of pipes in emergency sections at a minimum of $600 million. But the expert doubts that Transneft will do this. “There are more and more supporters of the project to turn the “Belarusian” pipe to Primorsk,” Nesterov notes. “And in this situation, the government is unlikely to agree to spend a lot of money on upgrading Druzhba.” In his opinion, such a decision would be correct. After all, Russia does not benefit from a rigid link to oil supplies through the pipeline to Eastern Europe – it needs to diversify export routes.

Lithuania without “Friendship”