Belarus is actively searching for oil. The largest stage of 3D seismic exploration has been completed in the Homiel region — drilling and blasting operations will begin in May. The country has begun publicly discussing cryptocurrency mining, even showcasing a large farm in Belaaziorsk.
Belarusians are increasingly switching to electric vehicles, while the construction of a second nuclear power plant is being discussed, and fuel prices continue to rise. The key developments in Belarusian energy in April – in the iSANS digest.
Key events
The active phase of the largest 3D seismic exploration project in the history of Belarus has been completed. This stage of work covered an area of 1,256 square kilometers across the Homiel, Rechytsa, and Loyew districts. In the first ten days of May, drilling and blasting operations are scheduled to begin. In 2025, seismic teams from «Belarusneft» plan to carry out 3D surveys over a record area of 836 square kilometers.
The state enterprise Orsha Heating Networks has implemented an investment project titled “Installation of a Line for the Production of Pellets from Flax Shives.” The installed line has an annual capacity of 2,520 tons. The project has enabled the enterprise to supply its pellet-fired boiler houses with in-house fuel and reduce the cost of heat energy production.
At Grodna CHP-2, the generator of the turbine unit is being replaced. The equipment manufacturer — NPO “ELSIB” (Novasibirsk) — has already supplied the excitation system, rotor, and stator of the generator.
At Zhlobin CHP, specialists are conducting a major overhaul of the water heating boiler KVM-50, unit No. 6.
The reconstruction of the 220 kV «Tsentrolit» substation is underway, with the replacement of the 220 kV and 110 kV circuit breakers with SF6 gas-insulated ones. Additionally, the installation of 25 MVA (110/10/6 kV) power transformers and 16 MVA transformers has begun.
At the 110 kV «Ashmyany» substation, the 110/35/10 kV, 10 MVA power transformer has been replaced with a new 25 MVA transformer.
The reconstruction of the 110 kV «Navagrudak» substation is underway. The project involves the use of SF6 equipment, installation of digital relay protection and automation systems, as well as the creation of high-tech automated systems for process control and electricity metering.
On April 26, a temporary shutdown of electrical equipment occurred at the «South-West» substation, which led to power supply interruptions for consumers in the Moscow district of Minsk.
Severe weather conditions caused by the storm on April 5 led to power supply disruptions for consumers in the Minsk region. The most affected were the Pukhovichy and Slutsk districts.
As of 11:00 PM on April 7, power supply had been restored in all settlements across the republic.
During the storm, disruptions were recorded in more than 840 settlements in Belarus. On average, the restoration of power supply took about three hours.
The «Mazyr Electric Networks» branch has completed the reconstruction of the 10 kV overhead power line section from the 110 kV «Lelchitsy» substation and the upgrade of the 0.4 kV electrical networks in the city of Lelchitsy.
Statistics and data
As of April 1, 2025, nearly 28,500 electric vehicles have been registered in Belarus. Over the past year, their number has increased more than three times — from 6,400 to 20,700.
A network of charging stations has been established, with more than 1,400 stations in total.
Electric buses operate in Minsk, regional centers, as well as in Zhodino and Shklov. The organization of electric bus routes is being developed in Novopolotsk.
The total electricity consumption by charging stations for electric transport in 2024 amounted to 39.6 million kWh. In the first quarter of 2025, electricity consumption by charging stations increased 2.2 times compared to the same period in 2024.
Since April 1, export duties have been increased. The export customs duty rate for 1 ton of liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) is now $8.8 (previously $8.3), and for 1 ton of ethane, butane, and isobutane — $7.9 (previously $7.4). However, these changes are part of the synchronized tariff adjustments made by the EAEU countries. For Belarusian enterprises, these changes are not significant, as the export of hydrocarbon gases from Belarus is absent.
Electricity consumption in Belarus in February 2025 reached 3.8 billion kWh, which is 101% higher than the figure recorded in the same month of the previous year. A significant increase was observed in electricity consumption by the population for heating and hot water supply purposes, with a 28% increase compared to February 2024. Interestingly, data is usually published from the beginning of the year, not just for February. In this case, a 1% growth relative to previous years seems rather low. It’s possible that electricity consumption even decreased in January, and February became the only month where electricity consumption showed an increase.
In March 2025, 101 well operations were completed, setting a new record. The previous record was set in December 2024 with 92 well operations. In total, 52,534 m³ of fracture fluid and fresh water, as well as 1,234 m³ of hydrochloric acid solutions, were injected into target formations during the month.
Statements
Energy Minister Denis Maroz: «Preparations are underway for technical negotiations with Russia regarding the construction of the second nuclear power plant in Belarus. Indeed, this topic is being actively discussed at a high level. We are now preparing for technical talks to discuss the project parameters, its cost, and implementation conditions.»
Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry representative Aliaxey Palischuk mentioned that the options being considered include a new site in the Magilev region or the possibility of constructing an additional unit next to the existing nuclear power plant in Astrovets.
In January 2025, Denis Maroz stated that the development of the technical and economic justification for the project is nearing completion, and a final decision is expected to be made by the end of the year.
Thus, the issue of increasing nuclear capacity in Belarus is being seriously addressed at the highest level and with high intensity. However, at this point, there is no public analysis of the economic need for constructing new nuclear units.
Topic of the Issue: Crypto farms
In early March, Alexander Lukashenko instructed to develop mining in Belarus. This directive was widely covered in the media. However, its main significance likely lies not so much in calling for the active development of the industry, but rather in the public legitimization and demonstration of approval of mining by the Belarusian leadership.
On April 20, the state television channel STV released a report about mining farms operating in Belarus. It turned out that such facilities are already operating on a significant scale. Specifically, a mining farm with a capacity of 105 MW is located in the town of Belazersk, Brest region, near the Berezovskaya GRES. It is noted that the farm’s consumption accounts for about 20% of the total electricity consumption in the Brest region.
At full capacity, the farm is capable of consuming around 920 million kWh of electricity per year. If the regional electricity consumption structure in the country (excluding the crypto farm) remains unchanged, this accounts for about 20% of the total electricity consumption in the Brest region. The report also states that the farm has been operating for over two years, having been launched in 2023.
The report further mentions plans to increase the capacity of the mining farm in Belozersk by 150 MW. Thus, the total capacity of the farm may reach 255 MW, which corresponds to an annual consumption of about 2.2 billion kWh — approximately 5% of the total electricity consumption in Belarus.
Additionally, there are reports of the construction of digital farms in the Magilev region, on the production premises of the «Kricheucementashifer» company. Although the exact electrical capacity of the project is not specified, based on the stated investments and equipment quantities, it can be assumed that the capacity is around 30-40 MW, which corresponds to an annual consumption of about 260 million kWh. However, since the facility is expected to be commissioned only in 2025, it is not yet reflected in the current electricity consumption structure.
In Belarus, there are special tariffs for electricity for mining farms, which vary depending on the consumption volume: from 20.3 kopecks ($0.0654) per kWh for consumers with an annual consumption of 15-50 million kWh to 16.88 kopecks ($0.0542) per kWh for consumers with an annual consumption of over 500 million kWh.
The tariff for industrial enterprises and those equated to them is 36.43 kopecks ($0.1175), while the tariff that ensures full compensation of economically justified costs for their provision is 27 kopecks ($0.0871).
For the installation in Brest region, the farm is located near the station and can be directly connected to the power lines of the power plant. The specific fuel consumption at the Berezovskaya GRES in 2018 was 260 grams of fuel per kWh. With such fuel consumption, the cost of electricity production is about 12 kopecks/kWh ($0.0387), and overall, such a project could be profitable for the power station.
For the project in the Magilev region, the situation is worse, as it is located on the premises of an industrial facility. Although all the electricity transmission infrastructure is ready and available, the energy system will incur costs for transmitting electricity through its networ
The fact of the operation of the mining farm in 2023 and 2024 also allows us to look at the dynamics of electricity consumption in the country differently. If we take into account the increase in consumption for electric heating, electric transport, and mining, the remaining consumption in 2023 was lower than the level of 2021, and only in 2024 did it exceed the 2021 figures by 2.7%.
Материал доступен на русском языке: Беларусь ищет нефть и растит майнинговые фермы. Главное в энергетике за апрель 2025
