IRKUTSK, April 20 (RIA Novosti, Alexander Batalin) - Oil transportation to China along the Trans-Siberian Railroad reached 180,000 bbl/d in March, an increase of 7.4% year on year, a spokesman for the East Siberian Railroad said Thursday.
The volumes of crude transported via the Zabaikalsk border crossing in the first quarter of 2006 totaled more than 12.6 million bbl, or 140,000 bbl/d, which is 53.5% more year on year. A total of 4.05 million bbl, or 45,000 bbl/d, was transported via another border crossing, Naushki. No data for comparison with last year's figures for Naushki were available.
The East Siberian Railroad said oil transportation to China was a priority for Russian railroad monopoly Russian Railways and its East Siberian branch.
After infrastructure modernization, the East Siberian Railroad will be ready to supply 87.32 million bbl of crude to China in 2006, officials said.
