UPDATE: First Cargoes From Ust-Luga Due To Load March-Transneft

The first cargoes of Russian Urals crude are expected to load from the new Baltic oil terminal of Ust-Luga in March following months of delays to the start of operations, a spokesman for state oil pipeline operator OAO Transneft (TRNFP.RS) said Thursday.

Two test cargoes are due to load at the end of March and will take longer than usual so that the operators can gather all the necessary test information, the spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires.

"If the first loading goes well--as expected--a second test loading will start several days later," he added.

Russian oil company Surgutneftgaz JSC (SGTZY) issued a tender to sell the first cargo, 100,000 metric tons of Urals crude scheduled to load on March 21-22.

The tender was met by skepticism from traders after a similar offer last month was rescinded.

"I feel like I've seen these headlines every month since November," said one trader.

"We will see if it actually loads," he added.

The start of operations at Ust Luga was delayed due to the collapse of a berth in November, which led to extended maintenance and forced the start date to be pushed back several times.

The terminal is set to handle around 400,000 barrels a day, shipped via the Baltic Pipeline System. The pipeline redirects Russian oil to the Baltic Sea from the Druzhba pipeline system that goes through Belarus to the European Union.

-By Sarah Kent and Konstantin Rozhnov, Dow Jones Newswires;4420-7842-9376; [e-mail]