Civilized countries have long been sounding the alarm: due to excessive greenhouse gas emissions, the planet is threatened by natural and social disasters. Gas TSO of Ukraine, as a responsible business, implements the Development Strategy, the provisions of which conform, in particular, to the objectives of the EU Strategy to reduce methane emissions. In October 2020, the European Commission presented a separate document, the implementation of which will contribute to decarbonization by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050.  

Our company started implementing measures to reduce methane emissions immediately after the unbundling in 2019. Result: reduction of fugitive emissions about total methane emissions from 42% (2019) to 28% (2021). This result was achieved thanks to new approaches in the organization of production processes:

• creation of the Information Database of Methane Leaks from GTS Equipment (which meets the requirements of the EU Strategy);
• application of new methodologies, namely, an algorithm to reflect gas leaks from GTS equipment has been developed, GTS equipment tightness control frequency has been optimized; taking into account the specifics of production facilities: the survey is conducted using several devices (with different operation types), for individual facilities tightness control is carried out with the involvement of independent third-party organizations;
• introduction of modern equipment for detecting methane leaks by laser spectroscopy with search gas analyzers (INSPECTRA® LASER, EyeCGas 2.0, Hi-Flow Sampler Bacharach), which allow you to quickly detect gas leaks, optimally prioritize equipment replacement (taking into account the intensity of the leak) taking into account the economic component of costs. In addition, high-performance devices were purchased for the immediate elimination of detected leaks of the «Ironside Lubricants LT-4.54» type, which the production divisions effectively use;
• development of instructions to organize practical work to identify and eliminate natural gas leaks from GTS equipment using new high-performance devices.

In the energy sector, methane emissions occur along the entire chain: from fossil fuel production to the transmission and distribution system. Therefore, the Strategy also focuses on solving the problem of emissions related to supply chains from other countries (Methane Emissions Reduction Programme in the Gas Supply Chains, MERP).

On April 2, 2020, the Gas TSO of Ukraine joined the MERP project, about which our company signed a corresponding memorandum with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Within the framework of this project, GTSOU is actively working to improve the accuracy of measuring methane emissions, introducing an effective inventory system and regular reporting procedures, and developing a roadmap for reducing methane emissions.

Given the significant environmental impact explicitly caused by the energy sector, the EU Strategy focuses heavily on the large-scale implementation of the monitoring and reporting system developed under the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP), an initiative of which oil and gas companies are the participants.

At the end of 2020, the Gas TSO of Ukraine joined the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP 2.0) of the Energy Community Secretariat. Based on the results of 2020, GTOSU prepared a Report by the OGMP 2.0 standard; work on the Report for 2021 is being finalized.