Construction of a spur link of Russia's East Siberian Pacific Ocean crude oil pipeline, connecting the city of Skovorodino with China's border, will finish by the middle of next month, the Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday, citing Nikolai Tokarev, president of Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft (TRNFP.RS).
The link, which will be eventually connected with the city of Daqing in China's northeast, is expected to come online in October 2010, the report said.
Under a landmark oil-for-loan deal signed in February, China National Petroleum Corp. will import 15 million metric tons of crude annually for 20 years in exchange for Chinese banks lending $25 billion to Russia's state-owned oil producer OAO Rosneft (ROSN.RS) and Transneft.