Tobolsk, August 25, 2011. The public hearing involved representatives of the Tobolsk society, the city administration and the city council, representatives of the company “Tobolsk-Neftekhim”, “NIPIgaspererabotka”, and the “Environmental Security” Training and Consulting Centre. As a result of the hearing, the majority of participants voted to accept the findings of the presented material as corresponding to the environmental impact assessment concerning the construction and operation of the product pipeline.

The discussion of this project is connected with the production capacity of the residual life of the existing product pipeline. The construction of the new branch of the pipeline will ensure the reliability and safety of transporting natural gas liquids (NGL) from gas-processing plants to the “Tobolsk-Neftekhim” facilities. In addition, the project will create new jobs and will create favourable prospects for further investment in the region’s gas processing and petrochemical complex.

Advanced technological solutions will be used in the construction of the new product pipeline. A high level of automation will provide for the transportation of a specified volume of production, while ensuring safe working conditions and environmental compliance in the product pipeline zone. As part of the integrated control system for the pipeline from the Yuzhniy Balyk gas pumping plant to the “Tobolsk-Neftekhim” facilities, this entails an automated process control system for transporting NGL and a system for monitoring the continuous area, which is capable of detecting leaks.

In terms of environmental indicators, it is predicted that the production pipeline should have minimal impact on the environment. As part of this project, the Ministry of Regional Development has developed and approved special technical conditions in aims of reducing any impact on the ecological situation in the pipeline zone. Thus, it is planned that a tube with increased wall thickness will be used, which will significantly reduce the risk of rupture. The realisation the construction of underwater navigation routes under rivers is being carried out through directional drilling. This should allow the pipeline route to be much lower than the bed, virtually without affecting rivers’ natural environment and thereby minimising the anticipated impact on the natural biological balance of the region's development.

Background information for editors:

The construction of a new line for the product pipeline running from Yuzhniy Balyk to Tobolsk is part of the Ministry of Energy’s programme for the development of oil and natural gas resources in Russia, which is, in part, aimed at boosting the volume of associated petroleum gas output. To ensure the effective supply of raw materials from the West Siberia oil, gas and the cluster, several investment projects have been planned for the construction and expansion of processing facilities and the development of product pipeline facilities. The list includes the SIBUR project to build the natural gas liquid pipeline (NGL pipeline) “Yuzhniy Balyk - Tobolsk-Neftekhim”.