President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends,
The other day we talked at the Eastern Economic Forum about the large-scale plans of developing the Far East, Arctic territories, the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor, and the Northern Sea Route as its part.
And today we can see their specific implementation: a mainline oil pipeline was opened at one of the largest Arctic projects, Vostok Oil in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The first oil went through it to the Arctic Ocean, to the new terminal at the Bukhta Sever port to be loaded into a tanker.
I congratulate you on this major, significant event for the Arctic region as well as for entire Russia. A very important step has been made in carrying out the Vostok Oil project, in developing, without exaggeration, a new oil province of a global scale.
The new oil pipeline connects two oil deposits, Vankor and Payakha, to the Bukhta Sever port. Total production capacity of the first stage of the port terminal alone is 30 million tonnes of oil a year, and after the terminal becomes fully operational, it will significantly grow. This way Bukhta Sever will be the largest northern oil port in the world.
I want to thank everybody who took part in building the pipeline, the first stage of the port terminal and in implementing the Vostok Oil project as a whole for their diligent work and excellent results.
I know that you had to work in severe frost and fierce winds; to build a special dam to protect the bay, to apply unique technological solutions. Nevertheless, despite the challenges, the designers, managers and builders successfully coped with the tasks set and ensured the necessary pace and quality of construction.
I should specifically note that the project is being carried out with due account of modern environmental standards and requirements for protecting the unique Arctic nature.
The new oil pipeline and the port terminal will make it possible to increase shipments along the Northern Sea Route. Last year, 37 million tonnes of cargoes were transported along the route, and by the end of the current decade annual cargo flow should reach 70 million tonnes a year, i.e. almost double the current amount.
I would like to say that the implementation of the Vostok Oil project is part of large‑scale efforts to develop Siberia, the Arctic, and the Far East, including the creation of the Trans‑Arctic Transport Corridor. It will create a single route by linking the Baltic region, the Arctic and the Far East, opening a short, profitable, and – this is crucially important in the current challenging international situation – a reliable and safe path to the world’s largest markets. It will enable us to launch new major energy and other projects in the Arctic, build up the region’s industrial, raw material, and production base, and not only to extract but also to process natural resources here.
New icebreakers and ice‑class vessels are being built for year‑round navigation along the Trans‑Arctic Transport Corridor. By 2030, the domestic icebreaker fleet will be augmented by three serial universal nuclear‑powered icebreakers of the Arktika project and the ultra‑powerful nuclear icebreaker Rossiya of the Lider project. At the same time, we are developing the cargo and emergency rescue fleet, and the satellite constellation. The logistics infrastructure of the ports of the Baltic, Barents, and Kara seas, as well as in the Pacific Ocean, is being upgraded.
Our agenda includes integration of the Arctic sea terminals with railway and inland waterways, expansion of opportunities for uninterrupted northern supply to the Arctic regions, and for coastwise and transit transportation of goods from Central Russia, the Urals, and Siberia to be delivered here with imports going back.
We will continue to systematically and consistently build a modern, convenient logistics space for the Arctic and Far Eastern regions.
I would like to note that among the unconditional priorities is the improvement of Arctic cities and the creation of attractive, comfortable living conditions for people there, including through master plans. These programmes will also contribute to the comprehensive development of Arctic territories.
In short, there is a lot of important and responsible work ahead. And I am confident that everything planned will undoubtedly be carried out.
I would like to once again express my gratitude to the builders and everyone involved in the implementation of the Vostok Oil project, and to greet you and your colleagues, all those who work in Russia’s oil and gas sector, on the upcoming holiday, the Oil and Gas Industry Worker’s Day.
The oil and gas sector is one of the key industries in our country’s economy. It plays an important role in strengthening Russia’s energy, industrial, and export potential, in the development of regions, and in improving people’s quality of life.
I want to thank everyone employed in the industry — researchers, geologists, engineers, builders, and workers — for their dedication. And, of course, I wish you new successes and all the very best.
Thank you.
Let us continue. Mr Sechin, Rosneft, you have the floor.
Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin: Mr President,
We are on the Taimyr Peninsula, at the mouth of the Yenisei River, at the oil terminal of the Sever Bay port on the southern shore of the Arctic Ocean. This is the northernmost port in the world, located at 73.9 degrees north latitude and 80.2 degrees east longitude. The weather is crisp, with temperatures around zero and gusty winds.
At your instruction, Mr President, Rosneft is implementing the Vostok Oil project here. This is a new global oil province with a resource base of more than 7 billion tonnes of high-quality, low-sulphur oil, with a sulphur content ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 percent.
More than 2,000 of the 12,000 wells planned for the project have now been commissioned. A series of domestic Taimyr Arctic drilling rigs with a closed thermal circuit was designed and manufactured specifically for the project. The rigs are equipped with a hydraulic base, which improves drilling accuracy, and domestically produced top-drive systems, enabling the drilling of wells more than 6,000 metres long.
The 790-kilometre Vankor–Payakha–Sever Bay main oil pipeline has been built to transport oil, with its annual design capacity of 100 million tonnes.
Most of the pipeline – 414 kilometres – is a twin-line system. A six-kilometre section crossing beneath the Yenisei River has been completed, running at a depth of approximately 50 metres and going as far as eight metres below the riverbed, in accordance with strict environmental standards.
The special protective dam you have mentioned has been designed and built to ensure year-round port operations in ice floes. We already demonstrated the dam’s reliability this spring during severe ice drift.
During construction of the dam, more than 2,000 bored piles, each 2.5 metres in diameter and 80 to 100 metres deep, were installed. The berth has a depth of 18 metres, allowing oil to be loaded onto Arctic tankers with a deadweight of 120,000 tonnes.
The project’s port complex currently includes an oil loading berth, two cargo berths, a berth for the harbour fleet, and 14 oil storage tanks, each with a capacity of 30,000 tonnes. At full capacity, the complex will have 102 storage tanks.
Once operational, the Vostok Oil project will deliver 30 million tonnes of oil to consumers as early as the second half of next year. By 2030, that figure is expected to reach 50 million tonnes. Further development could increase annual market supply to 100 million tonnes, subject to market demand and favourable economic conditions.
Designed to operate for centuries, the project’s lifespan could be extended even further through ongoing exploration. Its power supply will be ensured by new grids and generation systems with a total capacity of up to 3.5 gigawatts, comprising 15 local power districts, 16 power plants, and 9,000 kilometres of transmission lines.
Wind energy is a key component of this system. A wind farm with an installed capacity of 50 megawatts is currently under construction, with plans to expand it to 200 megawatts. The wind turbines, featuring a blade span of 172 metres, are designed to harness Taimyr’s substantial wind energy potential.
Currently, over 50,000 people and 16,280 units of specialised and transport equipment are engaged across the project sites. Workers are housed in four advanced and comfortable industrial camps offering post-shift rehabilitation facilities, autonomous life support systems, and digital services, including medical care. A total of fifteen such camps are planned.
Total investment in the integrated project has reached four trillion rubles. All equipment used in the Vostok Oil project is domestically manufactured in Russia. Every ruble invested generates a ninefold increase in demand for domestically produced goods and services.
Construction is also underway on an air transport complex, including the new Severny Airport, which will feature a 3,500-metre runway.
This concludes the report.
Mr President, please give permission to load the first crude oil from the Vostok Oil project onto the Valentin Pikul, a class-seven Arctic tanker launched at the Zvezda Shipyard.
Vladimir Putin: Permission granted.
Igor Sechin: Attention to the terminal operator. Please begin loading the crude oil and report back.
Control Centre Operator Matvei Kulikov: Affirmative. Start loading the crude oil at the terminal.
The system has been activated. Crude oil is now being delivered on board the tanker.
Igor Sechin: Please confirm that the tanker’s captain has received the crude oil.
Tanker Valentin Pikul Captain Roman Yezersky: Crude oil from the Vostok Oil project is arriving on board.
Igor Sechin: Mr President, the loading of crude oil onto the tanker has begun. I would like to show you a short video about the Vostok Oil project facilities.
Vladimir Putin: Please go ahead.
(Video plays.)
Igor Sechin: Mr President,
I report that the Valentin Pikul is being loaded, while the 120,000-tonne Aframax tanker Akademik Gubkin, also built at the Zvezda Shipyard, is already waiting at anchor.
Mr President, I congratulate you on the birth of the new Russian oil province, Vostok Oil. All Rosneft employees, as well as hundreds of our suppliers, contractors, builders, metallurgists, and transport workers involved in this project, are inspired by this achievement. This event ranks alongside such major accomplishments as the discovery of oil in West Siberia during the Soviet era.
In conclusion, I would like to ask your permission to take this opportunity to extend my greetings to our colleagues, global industry leaders with whom we discussed the prospects of the Vostok Oil project: former BP CEO Robert Dudley; Rex Tillerson, a distinguished oilman and former CEO of ExxonMobil; distinguished geologists Al Cook of Equinor, Stephen Greenlee, and Neil Duffin of ExxonMobil; as well as our current partners and colleagues Darren Woods and Neil Chapman. I think they will be very pleased.
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Vladimir Putin: Mr Sechin, I’d like to congratulate you and your entire team on today’s big event for your company and the industry – well, for the country, without exaggeration. It was you and your team who initiated this project. Congratulations.
I’d like to give the floor to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak who will offer his remarks on this milestone.
Mr Novak, please.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak: Good evening, Mr President.
First of all, thank you for your continuous attention to the development of the fuel and energy sector and to the support of this project. In recent years, this has indeed been the largest project in the oil and gas industry, opening up new development areas and prospects for our fuel and energy sector. It is important for the economy in general, for the fuel and energy sector, and for Russia's energy security, new routes, the operation and development of the Northern Sea Route, and direct supplies from oil and gas fields via the pipeline and the Bukhta Sever port to end consumers in the west and in the Asia-Pacific region.
As noted earlier, the project has received four trillion rubles in investment. This is an enormous investment that, naturally, fully secures workloads for industries like machine engineering, metallurgy, shipbuilding and, of course, energy. Nine thousand kilometres of power networks and three gigawatts of capacity are powered by Russian technology and Russian equipment, which fully corresponds to the technological sovereignty objective you set for the energy industry.
The Russian Government has provided necessary support measures for this project, as well as tax concessions and mechanisms to stimulate the construction of energy infrastructure.
This is an excellent example of a public-private partnership project. I’d like to thank the team of Rosneft and Mr Sechin for the well-coordinated work under such challenging Arctic conditions.
I’d like to join in the greetings for the team and all energy industry workers. Congratulations on the Day of Oil and Gas Industry Workers!
Thank you very much, Mr President.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you.
Colleagues, I’d like to note that the resource base of the oil and gas field that is part of the Vostok Oil group is estimated at seven billion tonnes of low-sulphur oil. It is one of the biggest fields in the world, which we expect to operate for decades to come. Once again, it is a major milestone for the Russian economy.
Congratulations on this event and this success. It is the first but very important step towards the implementation of Russia’s largest oil and gas project.
Thank you and best wishes.