Second Ukrainian company to start exporting biomethane to the EU
12 February 09:42
Oril Leader, a private joint-stock company that is part of the MHP agro-industrial holding and has a biomethane plant in the Dnipro region, exported 27.4 thousand cubic meters of biomethane on February 11 and became the second Ukrainian company to export biomethane. This was reported by the ExPro publication, citing its own sources, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
It is noted that Oril Leader exported biomethane through gas pipelines across the Ukrainian-Polish border to Germany. The buyer of biomethane was Vitol.
As it is known, the first Ukrainian exporter of biomethane was Vitagro Energy, a part of the Vitagro agricultural holding. on February 7, it made the first biomethane supply to Europe in Ukrainian history. The company exported 67.5 thousand cubic meters of biomethane, with ERU Europe as the buyer.
In addition to these two companies, Gals Agro produces biomethane and is already pumping it into Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities.
According to the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine, Ukrainian producers have already accumulated about 2 million cubic meters of biomethane in Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities.
As previously reported by the Ministry of Energy, Ukrainian producers can export biomethane to the EU through the Ukrainian gas transportation system by connecting biomethane plants to both the GTS and gas distribution networks. The conditions and tariffs for connection and transportation through the Ukrainian gas transportation system for biomethane producers are similar to those for natural gas producers.
The EU recognizes the importance of Ukrainian biomethane supplies
In December 2024, at the annual Ukrainian Energy Security Dialogue conference, Yolanda García Mesquita, representative of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy, said that Europe is aware of the huge potential of Ukrainian biogas and hopes that in the future, biomethane from Ukraine will be able to displace natural gas and reduce dependence on it.
The Memorandum on Strategic Partnership between Ukraine and the EU in the areas of biomethane, hydrogen and other synthetic gases was signed in February 2023. In order to ensure the functioning of the biomethane market, the Procedure for Customs Clearance of Exports of Ukrainian Biomethane was approved in accordance with Order of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine No. 380 “On Amendments to Certain Regulatory Legal Acts of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine on Customs Affairs”. The relevant Procedure came into force in September 2024.
Why biomethane exports are important for Ukraine
Ukraine is known to have the largest area of agricultural land in Europe, and the raw material for biomethane is organic waste from the agricultural sector. This means that Ukraine has a huge potential for biomethane production and can be an important supplier of green energy to the European market.
Biomethane is purified biogas with characteristics similar to natural gas. It can be used for heating, electricity generation, and as a fuel for transportation. Importantly, this biogas can be integrated into the gas infrastructure without additional costs for new networks, making biomethane available for widespread use.
