New Russian oil terminal in Vysotsk would double petroleum transport

Finnish and Russian environment officials concerned about shipping safety in narrow channel - construction already under way. The Russian oil giant Lukoil has started construction work on a new oil terminal on the island of Vysotsk (formerly known by the Finnish name Uuras) south of Vyborg (formerly Viipuri). Earth moving work is in full swing in the northeastern part of the Gulf of Finland. The new facility is to be built near the Primorsk oil terminal which started operations earlier this year. Lukoil hopes to build the Vysotsk terminal as quickly as possible. The goal is to have the first 70,000 tonne oil tankers leave the harbour already in September next year. The oil is to be transported to Vysotsk by train. Lukoil and the Russian Ministry of Transport agreed on Saturday that the Ministry would take measures to increase rail transport capacity between St. Petersburg and Vysotsk. The planned oil terminal would double the amount of oil being transported in the eastern Gulf of Finland, as the annual capacity of the new oil terminal would be about the same as that of the fist stage of the nearby Primorsk terminal - nearly ten million tonnes. Finland has not been officially informed by Russia about the beginning of the construction. At the beginning of July Environment Minister Jouni Backman made a written request for information on the harbour project on the Gulf of Finland, but no answer came. Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen has also demanded more information about the project. On Monday, the Prime Minister's summer holiday substitute, the Minister of Trade and Industry Sinikka Monkare, did not want to comment on the issue. "What can we do if they build oil terminals? We can only hope that they are built to be as safe as possible", Monkare said.