So, Astrakhan, known for its caviar and watermelons, is likely to turn into the hub of an unlikely oil export route across the landlocked Caspian to Iran.
LUKoil is working on final plans to expand its terminal there to 40,000 barrels per day next year.
"If we finish the plan in May, it will still take time to clear environmental authorities," the terminal's director Alexander Panfilov said. The upgrade should launch in 2005.
The crude is now shipped to Neka on Iran's Caspian coast in tankers that, with the bulging spring river, range to as large as 6,500 tons.
From Neka on its northern coast Iran moves crude to its refineries in Tehran and Tabriz.
The scheme has a capacity of 170,000 bpd, but Iran plans to boost that to 500,000 bpd with time.
