MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

Richter Magnitude 6.1 – AMURSKAYA OBLAST’, RUSSIA
Friday, October 14, 2011 at 04:10:15 PM at epicenter
54.114°N, 123.724°E
Depth: 15.3 km (9.5 miles)

“MOSCOW, Oct 14 (Reuters) – A strong earthquake struck Russia’s Far East near the Chinese border on Friday, shaking buildings hundreds of kilometres (miles) away, briefly halting Russian oil supplies to its energy-hungry Asian neighbour.

Schools were evacuated in one Russian city and office workers fled buildings across the border in China, but emergency officials said there were no casualties or significant property damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 6.1 magnitude quake struck on Friday at 0610 GMT near Skovorodino in the Amur region, about 5,150 km (3,200 miles) east of Moscow, and 210 km (130 miles) north of China’s Heilongjiang province.

Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft <TRNF_p.MM> said the quake forced a five and a half hour halt to oil shipments to China on the 300,000 barrel-per-day East Siberia – Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline, but added the pipeline itself had not been damaged.

A spur of the pipeline leads to China from Skovorodino.

Transneft spokesman Igor Dyomin said the company also temporarily stopped loading railway cars destined for the port of Kozmino on the Sea of Japan, an export route for another 300,000 barrels-per-day of oil to China and Asia-Pacific nations including South Korea, Japan and the United States.

‘The company halted supplies as a preventive measure. Transneft expects aftershocks,’ said Dyomin, adding the power supply to some pumping stations was interrupted and reserve capacity was plugged in.

Light fixtures were shaken and schools were evacuated in Chita, a city about 700 km (440 miles) southwest of the epicentre, Itar-Tass news agency said.

Tremors were also felt in the border city of Blagoveshchensk, 500 km (310 miles) southeast of the epicentre.” Read more.