Gas production and its use were begun in antiquity. In Russia, the history of the gas industry begins in 1811 thanks to the creator of the thermal tubes Pyotr Sobolevsky. Time passed, the industry developed. Many fields were explored, and the question arose of transporting gas to end consumers. After all, this type of fuel was used not only domestically, but was also exported to Europe. Since transportation through pipelines turned out to be the most profitable, a gas pipeline through Ukraine was built.
The history of the gas pipeline in Ukraine
Ukraine has also developed its own deposits. The first gas pipeline was built in 1924. After that, in 1948 "Dashava - Kiev" was created, subsequently extended to Moscow (in 1951). That is, Ukraine no longer supplied itself with “blue fuel”, but Russia supplied it to the country. After that, gas export to European countries began. Although Ukraine has its own deposits, it uses mostly Russian fuel.
Pipeline through Ukraine to Europe
The first transit of fuel took place in 1967. It was then that the gas pipeline to Europe through Ukraine “Valley - Uzhgorod - Western Border” was launched in the USSR. The Union Republic has become the world's largest transit country. Why was Ukraine chosen for gas export? First of all, because under the USSR the Unified Gas System was built. The second reason was the deterioration of the economic situation in the state - the arms race, investment in the military-industrial complex and the confrontation with China made themselves felt.
In the 70s, the price of oil and gas in the world market experienced a sharp jump. These were just those goods that the USSR could quickly provide, and financial resources could correct the economic situation. And then two transit options were proposed: Ukrainian and uniform. The first suggested a gas pipeline route through Ukraine, the second - through all the Union republics bordering Europe. Each option had its supporters, but the group supporting the first draft had more weight in the USSR government. These were leaders who either worked for a long time in Ukraine, or were natives of it - Brezhnev, Chernenko, Scherbitsky, Tikhonov, Kirilenko. In addition, the republic had considerable weight in the economy of the USSR. As a result, the gas pipeline route through Ukraine was laid even to the detriment of the principle of minimum distance.
The composition of the gas transmission system of Ukraine
After the collapse of the USSR, the former Union Republic became the owner of the largest gas transmission system (GTS). The main flow of supplies passes through the gas pipeline to Europe through Ukraine, which allowed it to dictate certain conditions to the importing countries and Russia.
Gas transit through a neighboring country is not only a huge length of trunk pipes. It is also a lot of metering devices, storages, compressor stations. All of them fulfill their role in the redistribution and transportation of gas. To visually understand how the gas pipeline passes through Ukraine and which transshipment points are involved, it is best to see its diagram. At first glance, it is simple, but if you look in more detail, you can see both the mains and distribution pipes.
The main components of the main gas pipeline
The gas pipeline through Ukraine passes through many cities and towns. The main ones contain important components such as compressor stations. The gas pipeline through Ukraine has 72 such points. The GTS also includes 13 storage facilities, of which 12 are actively in operation. Also installed metering devices. There are 12 gas metering stations on the border with Russia, and 11 GISs on a site bordering European countries.
All this equipment and stations are managed by Ukrgaztrans and its branches located in Kiev, Lviv, Cherkassy, Carpathian and Donbass. The gas storage facilities in Ukraine for further transportation and distribution are located in the West of the country, Donbass, in the Kiev and Chernihiv regions, as well as in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
If you look at the diagram and see how the gas pipeline passes through Ukraine, you can see that this is not one pipe several thousand kilometers long. This is a whole network of branches and connections with service points.
Gas transportation to Europe through Ukraine
Since the main gas pipeline through Ukraine for transit was built during the Soviet Union, after the collapse of the country, economic ties remained. To date, gas transit is carried out along the following pipelines:
- Orenburg - Western border.
- Urengoy - Pomary - Uzhgorod.
- Yamburg - Western border.
- Torzhok - Valley.
- Valley - Uzhgorod.
All of them are intertwined or parallel in some areas. And speaking in general about how the gas pipeline passes through Ukraine, we get two main flows. The first of them is Urengoy - Pomary - Uzhgorod, which in the country is combined with Progress. The second is Soyuz, which starts from the Orenburg field and was the main export gas pipeline under the USSR. Actually, there is not a single exact scheme that would show how the gas pipeline goes through Ukraine. The main export routes are Soyuz, Druzhba, Progress and Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod.
Soyuz gas pipeline
This Russian gas pipeline through Ukraine was stretched from Orenburg to the western border of the USSR. He received the name "Union". It was a joint construction of the allied countries - Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, East Germany and the USSR - in 1975-1976. Gas is transported through it from the Orenburg field to the countries of Western Europe. Its capacity is 26 billion cubic meters per year.
To understand where the Soyuz gas pipeline passes through Ukraine, you need to consider a map and a diagram. The main cities are Orenburg, Uralsk, Aleksandrov Gai, Kremenchug, Dolina and Uzhgorod. At the border of Russia and Ukraine, the Pisarevka gas measuring station (territory of the Russian Federation) is equipped, after which the recorded gas moves through the territory of Ukraine.
In addition to the above cities, the highway passes through some more. All of them are equipped with compressor stations that ensure the normal functioning of the system. These are Novopskov, Hogs, May Day, Matveyevka, Aleksandrovka, Talnoe, Gaysin, Bar, Gusyatin, Bogorodchany, Khust. Through the gas measuring stations Beregovo, Tekovo and Uzhgorod, fuel is supplied to Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. In the city of Bar, the highway connects with the flows Urengoy - Pomary - Uzhgorod and Progress.
Gas pipeline "Urengoy - Pomary - Uzhgorod"
In fact, this is not one gas pipeline, but a whole stream of pipelines. It also includes the Progress gas pipeline. Construction was started from the Urengoy field. It was built in conjunction with the banks of Germany, Japan, France - they issued a loan to purchase the necessary components. The project was developed at OAO YUZHNIIGIPROGAZ (Donetsk). Pipes for highways were purchased at the Khartsyzsk Pipe Plant, pipelayers and equipment were purchased from leading world manufacturers from Europe and the USA. The construction was completed in 1983.
This pipeline through Ukraine has a length of 1,160 kilometers. He enters the territory of the country through the Sudzha measuring and measuring station. This pipeline route through Ukraine runs through 9 compressor stations in the cities of Romny, Grebinka, Sofievka, Stavische, Ilyintsy, Bar, Gusyatin, Bogorodchany, Volovets. Gas flows to Europe through the Uzhgorod measuring station.
The capacity of the highway for transporting fuel is 28 billion cubic meters per year. This is the most powerful gas pipeline through Ukraine to date.
Gas pipeline "Progress"
The construction of the gas pipeline was completed in 1988. The gas pipeline route through Ukraine will coincide with the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod flow. Its capacity is 26 billion cubic meters per year. It begins in Russia from the Yamburgskoye field. The length is 1160 km in Ukraine. There are 9 compressor stations on the highway, which provide gas transportation to Europe.
Druzhba gas pipeline
Little is known about him. This gas pipeline begins from Punga, near the border with Ukraine passes through Kursk and Ostrogozhsk. Gas leaves Russia via the highway through the Valuyki gas distribution station, moves to Kiev and is further divided into several flows. One of them goes to Western Ukraine, the second to the Moldovan border. In the future, the highways from Ukhta to Punge were completed, and transit to Ukrainian territory began through the Pisarevka and Savingovka stations. But the gas pipeline itself is not mentioned either on the Naftogaz website or on the Gazprom website. Its sections were completed and renamed.
Export stream "The Shining of the North"
The main route of the pipeline goes through the cities of Bovanenkovo, Ukhta, Torzhok, Dolina, Uzhgorod. The highway passes through the border of Ukraine with Belarus. The incoming gas measuring station is located on the territory of Belarus - GIS "Mozyr". If you pay attention to the commissioning of the Torzhok-Dolina section, these will be the 90s, and the Bovanenkovo-Ukhta branch will be in 2012.
On the territory of Ukraine, the stream "Northern Lights" is divided into three sections. The first of them is Torzhok - Valley. At the final point of this section, gas is redistributed. The second is "Valley - Uzhgorod". Its capacity is 17 billion cubic meters per year. In Uzhgorod, gas is redistributed again and goes to the third section - Uzhgorod - Beregovo. 13 billion cubic meters of gas passes through this highway annually.
Other export pipelines
As mentioned above, a gas pipeline through Ukraine is a whole branched network of pipelines connecting suppliers, end consumers, compressor metering and distribution points. Therefore, we should mention the rest of the gas pipelines through which transit to Europe takes place. These are Komarno-Drozdovichi, Khust-Satu-Mare, Ananyev-Tiraspol-Izmail, and Shebelinka-Izmail. Their total capacity is 34 billion cubic meters per year.
Construction of a new South Stream gas pipeline
Recent political events have shown that the export gas pipeline through Ukraine is not a very reliable highway for fuel transit to European countries. In addition, breakdowns and explosions of gas pipelines became more frequent, especially on the strategically important lines Urengoy - Pomary - Uzhgorod, Soyuz, and Progress. Therefore, pipelines are designed and built bypassing through other states.
One of these is South Stream. The pipeline route through Ukraine will not go. It will pass along the bottom of the Black Sea directly from Russia. It was originally planned to lead him through the economic zone of Turkey. But in connection with the accession of Crimea to Russia, the project was revised. It will be pulled through the Black Sea shelf of the peninsula. This pipeline will allow Russia not to depend on Ukrainian mediators and the political and economic situation in the country and to ensure full gas transit to European states.
The situation today is such that Ukraine will have to use only its own deposits and lose profits from transit operations. As soon as a new project is launched, Russia will be able to minimize gas supplies through a neighboring country, which will make this process economically disadvantageous. The Russian Federation is a country that cannot be given ultimatums.