The Caspian Pipeline Consortium's (CPS) 1,511-km Tengiz-Novorossiysk Pipeline was shut down for 72 hours to tie-in new equipment and replace block valves in an effort to increase the pipeline's capacity. This was the third and final scheduled shutdown of the oil pipeline in 2012.
The expansion included: rehabilitation of five existing and construction of 10 additional pump stations (2 in the Republic of Kazakhstan and 8 in the Russian Federation); adding six crude oil storage tanks near Novorossiysk; and a Single Point Mooring (SPM) system at the CPC Marine Terminal. Also 88-km of pipeline was replaced in Kazakhstan with larger diameter pipe. Project investments totaled US$ 5.4 billion.
The shutdowns of the Tengiz-Novorossiysk pipeline and the additional equipment tie-ins allowed the pipeline to be upgraded and prepared to support capacity increases in the future. The CPC project was originally developed with a view to a potential expansion from 67 to 76 million tons per annum (mtpa).