The company, which pipes oil from the Caspian to Novorossiysk, said it pumped 32.7m tonnes last year, up from 30.59m in 2012.

December loadings on to tankers reached 2.82m tonnes, from 2.74m in 2012.

The Chevron-led pipeline group includes Russian pipeline company Transneft, ExxonMobil, Shell and Lukoil.