EBRD and Ukraine agree to reduce methane emissions in gas sector

EBRD and Ukraine agree to reduce methane emissions in gas sector

 

The EBRD, Ukraine’s national energy company Naftogaz and the country’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources have agreed to work together to reduce methane emissions in Ukraine’s gas sector.

The three parties will develop a national initiative –  “Methane Emissions Reduction Programme in the Gas Supply Chains” – that will include advanced measurement campaigns, an improved emissions inventory system and the development of an investment roadmap to significantly reduce methane fugitive emissions.

A Memorandum of Understanding covering this cooperation was signed by the EBRD Director for Energy Efficiency and Climate Change, Terry McCallion; Minister of Environment of Ukraine, Ostap Semerak; and the CEO of Naftogaz, Andriy Kobolev, on the first day of the Ninth International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development today in Kiev.

The programme and the impact of methane emissions on the sustainability of natural gas supply chains were discussed at the forum’s high-level panel “Methane Management in Extractive Industries”.

Addressing methane leaks in gas supply chains will make a crucial contribution to the rapid decarbonisation of the Ukrainian energy sector.  Oil and gas sector methane emissions in the EBRD regions are estimated to be nearly 60 billion cubic metres per year, nearly 40 percent of the regions’ total greenhouse gas emissions.

In parallel, the EBRD is considering a loan of up to €52 million to the Ukrainian domestic gas production company JSC UkrGasVydobuvannya to help it invest in advanced waste heat recovery equipment in its gas processing operations and reduce CO₂ emissions while ensuring reliable extraction of gas for the country.