Crimea, which itself found itself in an energy blockade a decade ago, is now assisting the newly incorporated territories of Russia. A new gas pipeline has been constructed from Crimea to the Kherson region, announced Kherson Governor Vladimir Saldo. Where does Crimea acquire its blue fuel, and will it suffice to supply the new territories?
The construction of a new gas pipeline branch from the Republic of Crimea has enabled gas supply to the southern part of the Kherson region, Governor Vladimir Saldo reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in the Kremlin.
"A new gas pipeline has been built. Previously, the supply of the Kherson region, as well as Crimea, was carried out from the Right Bank, where there was a main gas pipeline. Given that we can no longer take gas from there, we created a reverse branch from Crimea. We've already spent 1.7 billion rubles, but we have essentially ensured gas supply to the southern part of the Kherson region. Work on gasification is currently underway, pipes are being laid, and gas is being distributed to residents," said Saldo.
In response to the president's question, the governor clarified that homes in the region are currently being connected, and there is still a lot of work ahead.
Earlier, Saldo mentioned that Gazprom has developed project documentation for the period up to 2028, and "Chornomorneftegaz" will undertake construction work on the gas pipelines. This will allow for an increase in gas volumes in the region.
Interestingly, until 2014, the supply of blue fuel to the peninsula flowed from Kherson. "Before 2014, gas was supplied to Crimea from the north to the south. This was the gas that came from Russia through the 'Sakhanovka' gas distribution station via a pipeline built during the Soviet era, which was effectively designed for gas transit through Ukraine. However, there is a large hub in the Kharkiv region, and the pipe had a branch to the Kherson region and further to Crimea," explains Igor Yushkov, an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation and the National Energy Security Fund (NESF).
However, in 2014, following Crimea's accession to Russia, Ukraine cut gas supplies to the peninsula, which then had to rely solely on its own resources.
"At that time, approximately 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas were extracted on the peninsula annually. However, due to the military tensions, 'Chornomorneftegaz' was forced to remove drilling platforms from the shelf and gradually reduce extraction, first to 1 billion cubic meters, and then even lower," notes the NESF expert.
According to a plan from 2019, the company intended to increase gas extraction to 1.7 billion cubic meters by 2025 and to 2 billion cubic meters a decade later. However, strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on 'Chornomorneftegaz' offshore platforms compelled the postponement of these plans.
Nevertheless, Crimea did not remain without gas, as by 2016, a gas pipeline was constructed through the Kerch Strait called "Kuban-Crimea." This pipeline was specifically built to provide fuel for the main power plants in Sevastopol and Simferopol. Interestingly, the pipeline was constructed to have double the capacity needed for Crimea's consumption. Its throughput capacity is 4.4 billion cubic meters per year, while the planned gas supply was 2.2 billion cubic meters, of which 1.5 billion cubic meters were allocated for these two thermal power plants.
"As the two power plants have been modernized, essentially becoming new stations, more gas has been needed in Simferopol and Sevastopol. Currently, Crimea consumes between 2 to 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year, with all this gas coming from the Kuban region via the gas pipeline through the Kerch Strait," Yushkov states.
However, following 2022, as a result of the Special Military Operation (SMO), Russia acquired new regions – the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, and Ukraine severed their gas supplies from its side, closing the valve that remained on Ukrainian territory, the interlocutor explains.
"Therefore, Russia restored and, in some areas, completed the transport system that existed before 2014 when the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions were connected to Crimea. However, now gas is flowing through the pipeline in reverse mode – from south to north, from Crimea to Kherson,"
- says Yushkov.
"As development progresses, the issue may arise regarding the throughput capacity of the gas pipeline through the Kerch Strait from Kuban to Crimea, in order to supply gas to the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. If the consumption volume exceeds the throughput capacity of the pipeline, it will need to be expanded. But before expanding, it is necessary to consider what would be more cost-effective: expanding the gas pipeline through Crimea to Kherson, which is quite a long route, or completing gas pipelines from the east, from Donetsk and other older regions such as Belgorod," Yushkov ponders.
Therefore, it is still necessary to design a gas transportation system for the new regions, determine what it should be, construct a branched network of gas pipelines, and connect them, concludes the interlocutor.
However, until a full-fledged gas pipeline network is built, autonomous energy sources can be utilized. "In Crimea and the new regions, it is practical to use autonomous energy supply sources, which do not require the introduction of massive infrastructure. For instance, there is the Perovo solar power station in Crimea, which is the second-largest solar power station in Russia by installed capacity (105.6 MW)," says Sergey Tereshkin, General Director of Open Oil Market.
"To enhance the reliability of energy supply, combined power installations can also be used, which are already applied in the Tomsk region, Transbaikalia, and Yakutia: diesel generators provide energy supply in the morning and evening, while solar panels generate power during the day, directing excess electricity into a storage unit from which supplies can be made at night," says Tereshkin.
He notes that this also includes the introduction of small regasification units for LNG – liquefied natural gas, which can be transported by road.
Source: Vzglyad
