On October 12, 2021 Caspian Pipeline Consortium carried out planned replacement of expansion joints on its second single point mooring (SMP-1) at the Marine Terminal near Novorossiysk. Transneft-Service LLC, the CPC marine equipment maintenance contractor, replaced both expansion joints - piping parts of the single point mooring. These parts were replaced before their service life had expired making this early replacement an extra preventive measure for process safety.
The replacement expansion joints were delivered to the CPC Marine Terminal by the SPM manufacturer, IMODCO (Monaco). The expansion joints were replaced in line with the manufacturer’s technical documentation and in compliance with the requirements of the Russian state supervisory authorities.
On October 15, 2021, SPM-2 was successfully tested. The water used for the single point mooring pressure test was loaded onto a tanker and shipped for disposal. Following the test, SPM-2 was put in service. The crude oil shipping and lifting processes at all CPC locations, including the Marine Terminal, are on schedule.
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The CPC Pipeline System is one of CIS largest energy investment projects that involves foreign capital. The length of the Tengiz – Novorossiysk pipeline is 1,511 km. This route moves over two thirds of all Kazakhstan export oil along with crude from Russian fields including those in the Caspian region. CPC Marine Terminal is equipped with three Single Point Moorings (SPM), allowing tankers to be loaded safely at significant distance offshore, including in poor weather conditions
CPC Shareholders: Federal Agency for State Property Management represented by Transneft (trustee) – 24%, CPC Company – 7%, KazMunayGas – 19%; Kazakhstan Pipeline Ventures LLC – 1.75%, Chevron Caspian Pipeline Consortium Company – 15%, LUKARCO B.V. - 12.5%, Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company - 7.5%, Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures Limited - 7.5%, BG Overseas Holding Limited - 2%, Eni International N.A. N.V. - 2%, and Oryx Caspian Pipeline LLC – 1.75%.