Belarus own fuel energy resources constitute around 15 %, while the remaining 85 % are exported from other countries. Moreover the import of fuel energy resources is not diversified: literally all gas used by the country, i.e. 95%, as well as the largest part of oil is imported from a single country, Russian Federation .

Structure of the gross usage of the fuel energy resources was not changing in the course of the past years and looks approximately in the following way: 60% constitutes Russian gas; 23% - oil and oil products; 6% - imported electricity; around 10% - local types of fuel (pit, pallets, biomass).

Such structure of the fuel energy balance of the country is not secure due to the fact that several principles of the energy policy implementation are violated at the same time: presence in the gross usage of various types of fuel - oil, natural gas, brown coal – approximately in similar proportions; diversification of suppliers, i.e. the share of each country in the overall volume should not surpass 40%, and other principles as well. Moreover, Russia is rising gas prices all the time. All, Belarus , Ukraine , the Western Europe – have already experienced the impact of the serious consequences of the ‘gas wars’. For several years in a row, in the beginning of a year when gas contracts are being signed, many countries are experiencing fever… 

State Programmes

In the course of the past several years Belarus has adopted various documents and programmes: Presidential Decrees have approved the “The Concept of Energy Security and Improvement of Energy Independence of the Republic of Belarus”; Directive No 3 “Economy and Savings as major factors of economic security of the country”; “State complex programme of modernization of the major production funds of the Belarusian Energy system, energy saving and increase of the share of the usage by the Republic of Belarus of its own fuel and energy resources, promotion of alternative renewable energy sources”, etc. 

The President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko makes statements from time to time that the energy security of Belarus should base first of all on its own resources, that it was crucial for the country to develop primarily the areas of usage of renewable sources of energy (wind, rivers, biomass, geothermal resources, other local types of fuel).

The Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences Mikhail Miasnikovich, said that before 2020 the share of the natural gas in the energy structure of the country should be 50%. For the moment being, Belarus depends on this organic fuel, supplied by Russia , for 95%. “The balance of the fuel and energy resources if compared with the previous Concept of the Energy Security is proposed to be changed in favour of coal, i.e. 2 million of this type of fuel should be introduced by 2020, as well as nuclear energy. Apart from that by 2015 we are planning to introduce into the fuel and energy resources structure 100 thousand tons of fuel, obtained from the processing of brown coal that we plan to extract from our own deposits”.

Basics of the Concept of Energy Security

The first step, friendship and partnership with all neighbours, including Russia . However independent experts believe that in the field of energy resources relations have to base on market economy. An economist, the Head of the analytical Mizes Centre Yaroslav Romanchuk says that “there would be no benefits, preferential regimes, donations, privileges and relations of the type “oil in exchange for kisses”. The faster happens the transition of Belarus to the world pricing policy for energy resources the easier it would be reject the complicated and ineffective schemes of cross-subsidizing and the better and cheaper would cost our path into the elite of world’s competitive business”.

Diversification and development of an open competitive market inside the country 

The international experience shows that consumers have to have a right to chose their suppliers (no only “Gazprom”, “Lukoil” and “Rosneft”) and to reach an agreement directly (avoiding third parties such as “Belransgaz” or “Belneftekhim”).

Diversification applies to the types of energy resources as well. Electricity producers should have a right to chose the type of fuel they would use. Moreover, contracts should be concluded with commercial organizations rather than with ministries and state institutions. Some might buy energy in Lithuania , some might in Ukraine or Poland , while others might chose to work using bio-fuel, solar or wind energy.

Using local types of fuel

To fulfill this task there is a need of investment into the promotion of the increase of the use of local and renewable fuel types.

However in case Belarusians will transfer “everything possible for own energy sources, take wood and start use it for heating” as ordered the Head of the country, that is least likely to become a decent measure against the energy dependence of the country. Starting to use bio-fuel, rape for instance, is rather costly. Also the construction of the Nuclear Power Plant would not change the situation dramatically, believes the Deputy Head of the Research Centre of the Institute for Privatization and Management Irina Tachitskaya. 

Construction of the Nuclear Power Plant 

On 15 January 2008 in the course of the meeting of the Security Council, a political decision on the construction of the own nuclear power plant was adopted. According to the calculations made by the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the introduction of the NPP with the overall capacity of 2 thousand MWt into the energy structure of the country, would allow to satisfy around 25% of the country’s needs in electricity and would lead to the reduction of its cost by 13 % due to the reduction of the expenses on fuel. A construction ground for the construction of the NPP has already been selected – Ostrovets region of the Grodno Oblast.  

Moreover, the country is not dropping its plans to construct the NPP because of the world economic and financial crisis, said President Aleksandr Lukahsenko on 7 April, “The Nuclear Power Plant, regardless of how complicated it would be we are going to construct anyway. At my level the issue of postponing the construction of the NPP for one-two years has not been regarded and so far we are not planning to consider this issue”.

Reduction of the usage of the electricity

An expert from the Institute of Privatization and Management Alena Rakova says, “Statistics shows that production of a one US Dollar GDP makes Belarus to consume energy resources by 4-5 times more than in Western countries. Mover over, Belarus consumes over 30 million tons of conditional fuel equivalent, i.e. that is approximately 3 tons per person, while an average European indicator is 1 ton”. Belarus consumes almost twice as much of gas and electricity per person while compared with the Western countries. One of the possible directions here is to encourage and to motivate people to save energy and to conduct housing reforms.

How many energy resources Belarus needs

Calculations made by SRC Mizes Analytical Centre “Strategia”:

Ludmila Korsak  

info@eurobelarus.info