Druzhba pipeline

From Freepedia

Image:Druzhba.jpg The Druzhba pipeline is the world's longest oil pipeline (the next longest being the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline). It was constructed in Soviet times to transport oil from central Russia to points west over a distance of some 4,000 km (2,500 miles). The name "Druzhba" means "friendship", alluding to the fact that the pipeline was intended to supply oil to the energy-hungry western regions of the Soviet Union, to its "fraternal socialist allies" in the former Soviet bloc, and to western Europe. Today, it is one of the principal arteries for the transportation of hydrocarbons across Europe.

The pipeline begins in Samara in southeastern Russia, where it collects oil from western Siberia, the Urals, and the Caspian Sea. It runs to Mozyr in southern Belarus, where it splits into a northern and southern branch. The latter branch runs south into Ukraine, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. The northern branch crosses the remainder of Belarus to reach Poland and Germany. There have recently been proposals to extend this branch to the German North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven, which would reduce oil tanker traffic in the Baltic Sea and make it easier to transport Russian oil to the United States.

The Druzhba pipeline currently has a capacity of 1.2 to 1.4 million barrels per day. Work is currently underway to increase this in the section between Belarus and Poland.

The Russian oil company Transneft is the pipeline's operator.