KHABAROVSK, August 28. /TASS/. The 28-km long branch oil pipeline from the East Siberia - Pacific Ocean (ESPO) main oil pipeline to the Khabarovsk Refinery was brought into operation in Khabarovsk on Friday.

"Khabarovsk Refinery is the first refinery connected to the ESPO. The branch pipeline construction means implementation of the ESPO goal of not merely exporting oil to the Asia-Pacific Region but also connecting refineries in the Far East to the main oil pipeline. Komsomolsk Refinery and EPCC in Nakhodka will be next," representative of Russian pipeline operator Transneft Robert Galiev said at the opening ceremony.

The Komsomolsk Refinery is scheduled for connection to the ESPO at the end of 2017 and the Eastern Petrochemical Company (EPCC) will be connected in 2020. The connection of refineries will make possible to boost their capacities and reduce oil supply costs. "Commercial supplies to the Khabarovsk Refinery will be about 1.6 mln tonnes in 2015. The refinery is planned to annually receive 5 mln tonnes of oil and up to 6 mln tonnes a year since 2019," Galiev said.

ESPO is the 4,740 km long oil pipeline from Taishet in the Irkutsk Region to Kozmino oil loading port in the Amur Region. The pipeline operated by Transneft connects West and East Siberian oilfields with the Asian and US markets.