# Purpe-Samotlor Oil Pipeline
The **Purpe-Samotlor oil pipeline** (нефтепровод «Пурпе — Самотлор») is a trunk crude oil pipeline in western Siberia, Russia, running 429 km from the Purpe oil pumping station in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District to the Samotlor line operations control station in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District. Built for the state pipeline operator [Transneft](https://www.edgepedia.org/transneft) and commissioned in October 2011, it carries oil from northern Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Yamalo-Nenets District, including the Vankor field, toward Russian refineries and export routes, and forms the southern section of the Zapolyarye–Purpe–Samotlor pipeline system.[1](https://euracor.ru/main/napravleniya-biznesa/proekty/magistralnyj-nefteprovod-nps-purpe-nps-samotlor) • [2](https://www.ogj.com/pipelines-transportation/pipelines/article/17266162/russias-transneft-launches-purpe-samotlor-pipeline) • [3](https://sciup.org/vankorskij-klasterrazvitie-neftedobychi-i-truboprovodnogo-transporta-nefti-v-14294818)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Length | 429 km (reported as 430 km in some trade-press accounts)[1](https://euracor.ru/main/napravleniya-biznesa/proekty/magistralnyj-nefteprovod-nps-purpe-nps-samotlor) • [2](https://www.ogj.com/pipelines-transportation/pipelines/article/17266162/russias-transneft-launches-purpe-samotlor-pipeline) |
| Diameter and capacity | 1,020 mm pipe; design throughput 25 million tonnes of oil per year (about 500,000 barrels per day), with a stated possibility of expansion to 50 million tonnes[1](https://euracor.ru/main/napravleniya-biznesa/proekty/magistralnyj-nefteprovod-nps-purpe-nps-samotlor) • [4](https://magazine.neftegaz.ru/articles/pervaya-strochka/454120-neft-iz-tundry/) • [2](https://www.ogj.com/pipelines-transportation/pipelines/article/17266162/russias-transneft-launches-purpe-samotlor-pipeline) |
| Route | From NPS Purpe (Purovsky district, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District) to LPDS Samotlor (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District), entirely underground, with the intermediate Vyngapur pumping station[3](https://sciup.org/vankorskij-klasterrazvitie-neftedobychi-i-truboprovodnogo-transporta-nefti-v-14294818) • [4](https://magazine.neftegaz.ru/articles/pervaya-strochka/454120-neft-iz-tundry/) |
| Construction | April 2010 to October 2011; customer OOO Transneftstroy; the contractor Evrakor built 188.3 km of the 1,020 mm line[1](https://euracor.ru/main/napravleniya-biznesa/proekty/magistralnyj-nefteprovod-nps-purpe-nps-samotlor) |
| Commissioning | Put into operation by OAO AK Transneft on 25 October 2011[5](https://armtorg.ru/news/1120/) |
| Role | Southern link of the Zapolyarye–Purpe–Samotlor system, feeding oil into the East Siberia–Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline and the national network toward Druzhba and Baltic and Black Sea terminals[2](https://www.ogj.com/pipelines-transportation/pipelines/article/17266162/russias-transneft-launches-purpe-samotlor-pipeline) |
| Cost | About US$1.5 billion, according to Transneft president Nikolai Tokarev in a 2010 interview[6](https://www.ogj.com/general-interest/companies/article/17293980/transneft-is-busy-building-pipelines-and-improving-its-financial-position) |
## Purpose and network role
The pipeline was built to move oil from new production areas, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District and the north of Krasnoyarsk Territory including the Vankor field, to Russian refineries and to foreign markets.[1](https://euracor.ru/main/napravleniya-biznesa/proekty/magistralnyj-nefteprovod-nps-purpe-nps-samotlor) In the government decision of April 2010 that authorized the Zapolyarye–Purpe–Samotlor system, two strategic tasks were set: supporting the development of oil production in the northern regions, and loading the East Siberia–[Pacific Ocean](https://www.edgepedia.org/pacific-ocean) (ESPO) pipeline system.[4](https://magazine.neftegaz.ru/articles/pervaya-strochka/454120-neft-iz-tundry/)
**A link between two systems.** The line acts as a bridge between the western and eastern parts of Russia's pipeline network: it lets oil from new West Siberian fields reach the ESPO system by the shortest route.[3](https://sciup.org/vankorskij-klasterrazvitie-neftedobychi-i-truboprovodnogo-transporta-nefti-v-14294818) At the same time, its connection to the national network allows oil to be routed into the inland Druzhba pipeline toward Europe, or to export terminals at Primorsk on the [Baltic Sea](https://www.edgepedia.org/baltic-sea) and Novorossiisk and Tuapse on the [Black Sea](https://www.edgepedia.org/black-sea).[2](https://www.ogj.com/pipelines-transportation/pipelines/article/17266162/russias-transneft-launches-purpe-samotlor-pipeline) At commissioning, Russia's Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko described the line as allowing Russia to react to market conditions and diversify crude supplies westward and eastward.[2](https://www.ogj.com/pipelines-transportation/pipelines/article/17266162/russias-transneft-launches-purpe-samotlor-pipeline)
## Construction
Transneft started construction in early 2010; the project record gives the construction period as April 2010 to October 2011, with OOO Transneftstroy as the customer.[6](https://www.ogj.com/general-interest/companies/article/17293980/transneft-is-busy-building-pipelines-and-improving-its-financial-position) • [1](https://euracor.ru/main/napravleniya-biznesa/proekty/magistralnyj-nefteprovod-nps-purpe-nps-samotlor) The pipeline was laid entirely underground, and the intermediate pumping station Vyngapur was built on the route.[4](https://magazine.neftegaz.ru/articles/pervaya-strochka/454120-neft-iz-tundry/) The HMS Group delivered eight upgraded trunk-line pump systems based on the NM 7000-250 pump to the project, and reported commissioning of the oil transfer pumping stations five months ahead of schedule.[7](https://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReportArchive/h/LSE_HMSG_2011.pdf) • [8](https://hms.biz/upload/catalogs_sold/113E_Integrated_Solutions_Oil_and_Gas.pdf) Pipe for the line, and for the wider Polar Circle–Purpe–Samotlor system, was 1,020 mm X70 steel, with 60,000 tonnes supplied by OMK to Transneft.[9](https://omk.ru/upload/iblock/f21/OMK_Corp_Presentation_eng_2020-12-23.pdf)
Transneft put the pipeline into operation on 25 October 2011 at its design capacity of 25 million tonnes per year.[5](https://armtorg.ru/news/1120/) A 2013 federal oversight report lists the NPS Purpe–NPS Samotlor pipeline at 429 km and 25 million tonnes per year among the largest projects implemented by Transneft.[10](https://en.gosnadzor.ru/activity/annual-report/Annual%20report%202013.pdf)
## Place in the Zapolyarye–Purpe–Samotlor system
Purpe–Samotlor is the first phase of the larger Zapolyarye–Purpe–Samotlor construction, which is intended to raise oil supply from the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District and northern [Krasnoyarsk](https://www.edgepedia.org/krasnoyarsk) region to refineries in Russia and abroad.[8](https://hms.biz/upload/catalogs_sold/113E_Integrated_Solutions_Oil_and_Gas.pdf) The northern leg, Zapolyarye–Purpe, was built later, with construction beginning in 2012 on a 488-km pipeline with 820 mm and 1,020 mm diameters and a planned capacity of up to 45 million tonnes per year; it was commissioned by Transneft in January 2017.[11](https://www.gem.wiki/Zapolyarye-Purpe_Oil_Pipeline) Upstream of Purpe, the Vankor–Purpe pipeline (556 km) brings oil from the Vankor group of fields, and the whole chain feeds the ESPO system for export toward Asia.[12](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/346804771_Arctic_oil_and_the_eastern_direction_of_Russia%27s_energy_policy)
The route's northern sections lie in permafrost terrain, and the Zapolyarye–Purpe–Samotlor system is used as a case study in Russian engineering work on pumping viscous oil in the [Far North](https://www.edgepedia.org/far-north), including the design of aboveground pipeline sections and the thermal interaction of pile foundations with frozen ground.[13](https://earchive.tpu.ru/handle/11683/67580)
## Significance
By connecting Vankor and other northern fields to both the ESPO system and the European-directed network, the pipeline gave Transneft a bidirectional routing option at a time when ESPO crude was moving at 300,000 b/d by rail from Skovorodino to the Pacific terminal of Kozmino, with a further 300,000 b/d to China through a 70-km pipeline spur.[2](https://www.ogj.com/pipelines-transportation/pipelines/article/17266162/russias-transneft-launches-purpe-samotlor-pipeline) The 2011 launch was expected to speed development of new Arctic crude deposits, including Vankor, which was expected to reach an output of 500,000 b/d in 2013.[14](https://www.naseo.org/data/sites/1/documents/energyassurance/documents/2011-YIR-043012.pdf)
## References
1. [Магистральный нефтепровод «НПС «Пурпе» — НПС «Самотлор», Евракор project page](https://euracor.ru/main/napravleniya-biznesa/proekty/magistralnyj-nefteprovod-nps-purpe-nps-samotlor)
2. [Russia's Transneft launches Purpe-Samotlor pipeline, Oil & Gas Journal, 25 October 2011](https://www.ogj.com/pipelines-transportation/pipelines/article/17266162/russias-transneft-launches-purpe-samotlor-pipeline)
3. [Ванкорский кластер: развитие нефтедобычи и трубопроводного транспорта нефти в Восточной Арктике, SciUp.org](https://sciup.org/vankorskij-klasterrazvitie-neftedobychi-i-truboprovodnogo-transporta-nefti-v-14294818)
4. [Нефть из тундры, Neftegaz.RU magazine, December 2018](https://magazine.neftegaz.ru/articles/pervaya-strochka/454120-neft-iz-tundry/)
5. [ОАО «АК «Транснефть» ввела в эксплуатацию нефтепровод Пурпе - Самотлор, Armtorg.ru, 27 October 2011](https://armtorg.ru/news/1120/)
6. [Transneft is busy building pipelines and improving its financial position, Oil & Gas Journal](https://www.ogj.com/general-interest/companies/article/17293980/transneft-is-busy-building-pipelines-and-improving-its-financial-position)
7. [HMS Group Annual Report and Accounts 2011](https://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReportArchive/h/LSE_HMSG_2011.pdf)
8. [HMS Group, Integrated Solutions for Oil & Gas](https://hms.biz/upload/catalogs_sold/113E_Integrated_Solutions_Oil_and_Gas.pdf)
9. [OMK Corporate Presentation, December 2020](https://omk.ru/upload/iblock/f21/OMK_Corp_Presentation_eng_2020-12-23.pdf)
10. [Rostechnadzor Annual Report 2013](https://en.gosnadzor.ru/activity/annual-report/Annual%20report%202013.pdf)
11. [Zapolyarye-Purpe Oil Pipeline, Global Energy Monitor](https://www.gem.wiki/Zapolyarye-Purpe_Oil_Pipeline)
12. [Arctic oil and the eastern direction of Russia's energy policy, ResearchGate](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/346804771_Arctic_oil_and_the_eastern_direction_of_Russia%27s_energy_policy)
13. [Организационно-техническое обеспечение трубопроводного транспорта вязкой нефти в районах Крайнего Севера, ТПУ electronic archive](https://earchive.tpu.ru/handle/11683/67580)
14. [Year-in-Review: 2011, National Association of State Energy Officials](https://www.naseo.org/data/sites/1/documents/energyassurance/documents/2011-YIR-043012.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Energy technology › Pipelines and fuel transport › Oil pipelines of Russia and the former Soviet Union*
*Initially written Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license