TOMSK, April 26 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline should run outside the northern drainage basin of Lake Baikal.
Speaking at a meeting of Siberian regional leaders, Putin said the pipeline should run beyond a proposed line 40 km to the north of the world's largest freshwater lake, an environmentally sensitive zone.
"The route should go to the north of the zone academician Laverov proposed," Putin said.
Academy of Sciences Vice President Nikolai Laverov proposed that the pipeline should run along the line of the watershed to the north of Baikal.
Previous plans had included a stretch of the pipeline running 800 meters from the shore of Baikal. The proposals were slammed by environmentalists, who said any leaks from the pipeline could cause irreparable damage to the lake, which is on the Unesco list of World Heritage Sites.
The Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline is slated to carry up to 80 million metric tons a year (1.6 mln of bbl/d) from Taishet in Irkutsk Region to Perevoznaya Bay in Primorye Territory.
Estimated to cost $11.5 billion, the pipeline could also supply oil to the Asia-Pacific region, most likely Japan and energy-hungry China.
The first stage of construction is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008. The president of pipeline monopoly Transneft said Wednesday construction could start as early as the end of this week.
