Key events
A new Minister of Energy has been appointed. Alexey Kushnarenko, who previously served as the CEO of the state production association for fuel and gasification “Beltopgaz,” has taken on the role. The former Minister of Energy, Viktor Karankevich, has been appointed Deputy Prime Minister.
onstruction of a polypropylene production complex has commenced at the Mozyr Oil Refinery. This significant petrochemical project represents the next phase in the refinery’s development. The company has seemingly completed the modernization of its technological chain for petroleum product production and has now embarked on a petrochemical direction. This move aligns with contemporary trends in oil refining and is a promising step for the long term.
The modernization of the Belarusian Gas Processing Plant is underway to optimize production processes. The plant processes all associated petroleum gas produced in the country, which amounts to approximately 203 million cubic meters in 2024. From this volume, the plant will produce 86 thousand tons of liquefied gas, 26 thousand tons of stable natural gasoline, and 49 million cubic meters of stripped gas.
By the end of the year, the number of electric charging stations under the SKAT brand is planned to increase to 50. The new brand of charging stations for electric vehicles was launched by OJSC Belelektrosetstroy in October 2023. The organization successfully implemented a project to equip Shklov and Zhodino with charging complexes. Most of the new stations will be installed in Minsk, primarily in the Frunzensky district. The SKAT charging station line includes more than 10 models of Mode 3 and Mode 4 charging stations, with capacities ranging from 30 to 240 kW.
On August 7, due to the incorrect actions of electrical personnel at a house in Molodechno, an emergency mode of operation was triggered in the electrical network. As a result, the household appliances of the residents were damaged.
On August 19, in Vitebsk, unauthorized excavation work in the gas pipeline security zone caused damage to a 108 mm diameter gas pipeline. Fortunately, there were no casualties, and the staff and pupils of the nearby Kindergarten No. 8 were safely evacuated.
As of August 1, 2024, the maximum price for AI-100 motor gasoline at gas stations will rise by 3 kopecks (0.03 Belarusian rubles). Prior to this, the price of AI-100 gasoline remained unchanged, even though motor fuel prices increased eight times during June and July. However, each of those previous price hikes was only by 1 kopeck.
Specialists from the Svetlogorsk Drilling Department have completed drilling 5 new wells.
Statistics and data
In 2024, the volume of petroleum product sales in Belarus increased by 8%. Unfortunately, data on gasoline sales volume for 2023 remains unavailable.
In accordance with existing contracts, by the end of this year, the association’s peat briquette plants will ship a batch of non-fuel peat products to China, totaling 4,000 tons. In 2025, it is planned to increase exports to 40,000 tons.
Electricity consumption in Belarus increased by 2 billion kWh from January to July 2024. In 2023, the total consumption reached a record high of 41.1 billion kWh, an increase of 2.5 billion kWh. One of the major drivers of this growth is the rising energy consumption for heating, which continues to grow at 40% per year, fueled by extremely low tariffs for residential electricity use.
Additionally, there was a significant rise in electricity consumption for electric transport. Between January and July 2024, this doubled, reaching 18.5 million kWh. Despite the number of electric vehicles in the country rising to nearly 15,000, the sudden surge in energy consumption for electric transport is puzzling. From June 2022 to June 2024, the number of electric vehicles increased from 10,000 to 12,000, but in the past two months alone, it jumped by 3,000 units. However, this increase does not fully explain the doubling of electricity consumption for transport.
This year, the total drilling length is projected to reach 237,000 meters, with over 100,000 meters dedicated to exploratory drilling.
In 2023, a total of 16.99 billion m³ of gas was consumed in Belarus. Of this amount, 8.7 billion m³ was used by the Belenergo State Production Association, while 8.2 billion m³ was consumed by other users, including 1.9 billion m³ by the population.
Statements
«The issue of a specific location is not currently being discussed. What is currently being discussed is the capacity of the unit that can be integrated into the Belarusian energy system and in what period,» Deputy Energy Minister Denis Moroz stated during an interview on Belarusian television.
Although there appear to be plans for a second nuclear power plant (NPP), the necessary technical load and economic conditions are not yet in place. Officially, the construction of a second NPP is not on the agenda, as there are «clear instructions from the head of state.» Meanwhile, energy sector officials, while publicly supporting these directives, are reportedly attempting to delay both the decision-making process and the timeline for construction as far into the future as possible.
Topic of the Issue: Integration of nuclear power plants into the energy system.
In July, the focus was on the completion of the construction of peak-reserve units, a significant development for the Belarusian energy sector. However, the most critical event that month was the hurricane, which caused severe disruptions, including the shutdown of the Mozyr regional center, the Mozyr Thermal Power Plant (TPP), and the Mozyr Oil Refinery.
With the immediate impact of the hurricane behind us, attention can now return to the construction of peak-reserve units, which represents the final phase of integrating the nuclear power plant (NPP) into Belarus’s energy system.
During the NPP’s construction, measures for power output were initially planned and included:
- Construction of 7 power transmission lines with a voltage of 330 kV, totaling 1,700 km in length.
- Construction of the 330 kV Postavy substation.
- Modernization of four substations: Severnaya, Smorgon, Molodechno, and Ros.
These measures were incorporated into the NPP construction project as part of the power delivery infrastructure.
Subsequently, additional measures were implemented, including the establishment of peak-reserve units. This step was necessitated by the increase in capacity of the largest unit in the energy system. Prior to the NPP, the largest unit was the CCGT unit at Minsk CHP-5, which had a capacity of 450 MW. Consequently, the energy system’s reserves were designed to accommodate this unit’s needs.
Participation in the BRELL agreement provided an additional 400 MW of reserve capacity from neighboring countries in case of emergencies. This brought the total reserve capacity to 850 MW, which was sufficient to accommodate the initial plan of integrating a 1000 MW NPP unit into the system. However, as the NPP was constructed with a capacity of 1200 MW instead of the initially planned 1000 MW, and with the Baltic countries planning to withdraw from the BRELL agreement, adjustments to the reserve strategy became necessary.
As a result, there was a need to build additional reserve capacities. Siemens SGT-800 gas turbine units, each with a capacity of about 50 MW, were selected for this purpose. A total of 16 such units, providing an aggregate capacity of 800 MW, are planned to be installed across various stations.
In 2022, Siemens announced the suspension of its cooperation with Belarusian organizations, raising questions about whether the units were delivered before this suspension or if installation and commissioning were managed independently by Belarusian specialists. It is also possible that cooperation with Siemens was restored for the completion of these tasks.
Even after 2015, it became evident that electricity consumption was rising at a slower rate than initially projected. The forecast for 2020 had anticipated a consumption of 47 TWh, but actual consumption fell below 40 TWh.
This disparity led to predictions of periods where both nuclear and CHP, which cannot be easily scaled down, would produce more electricity than was consumed. To address this issue, 916 MW of electric boilers were constructed to absorb the surplus electricity and convert it into thermal energy.
Additionally, several industrial projects have been implemented, contributing to increased electricity consumption while reducing the use of other energy sources.
A new tariff structure was also introduced for electricity used in heating and hot water supply. Under this tariff, households can receive electricity at a rate of 1 cent per kWh when installing electric heating equipment, despite the production cost being no less than 7 cents per kWh.
