The first trainload of Eastern Siberian oil arrives at the Russian seaport of Nakhodka in the Primorsky Krai Oct. 22, 2009. The 72-coach train loaded with more than 4,300 tons of crude oil set out from the Irkutsk region on Oct. 12. The oil will be transmitted via underground pipeline to Kozmino, the terminus of the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline (ESPO).(Xinhua/Zhao Jialin) Photo Gallery>>>

    NAKHODKA, Russia, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Russia's bid to diversify its energy markets by expanding into the Asia-Pacific advanced with the arrival Thursday of the first trainload of Eastern Siberian oil at the Russian seaport of Nakhodka in the Primorsky Krai.

   The 72-coach train loaded with more than 4,300 tons of crude oil set out from the Irkutsk region on Oct. 12. The oil will be transmitted via underground pipeline to Kozmino, the terminus of the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline (ESPO).

    Igor Demin, spokesman of Russia's oil pipeline monopoly Transneft, told Xinhua that Russia expected to ship oil to Asia-Pacific clients by year-end.

The first trainload of Eastern Siberian oil arrives at the Russian seaport of Nakhodka in the Primorsky Krai Oct. 22, 2009. The 72-coach train loaded with more than 4,300 tons of crude oil set out from the Irkutsk region on Oct. 12. The oil will be transmitted via underground pipeline to Kozmino, the terminus of the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline (ESPO).(Xinhua/Zhao Jialin) Photo Gallery>>>

    Meanwhile, the construction of the ESPO pipeline's extension to China had been carried out smoothly, said Demin, with the major part of the pipeline stretching from Skovorodino in the Amur region to the Russia-China border completed.

    He was confident China would finish the laying of the pipeline section across the Heilongjiang River as well as other construction work within China on time.

    The ESPO pipeline, running from Taishet in Eastern Siberia to Nakhodka, is more than 4,000 km long.

    In February, Russia and China signed cooperation deals on the construction of an ESPO branch toward China and long-term Russian oil supplies to China.

    The branch, which runs from Skovorodino to China's northeastern city of Daqing via China's border city of Mohe, is expected to come on line in October 2010. Russia is scheduled to export 15 million tons of crude oil to China over 20 years.

Workers load crude oil from the first trainload of Eastern Siberian oil upon its arrival at the Russian seaport of Nakhodka in the Primorsky Krai Oct. 22, 2009. The 72-coach train loaded with more than 4,300 tons of crude oil set out from the Irkutsk region on Oct. 12. The oil will be transmitted via underground pipeline to Kozmino, the terminus of the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline (ESPO).(Xinhua/Zhao Jialin) Photo Gallery>>>