The technical potential for methane recovery in Ukraine is 2.15–3.08 billion cubic meters per year, which is equivalent to 10–15% of the country’s total natural gas consumption, according to the study “Methane Emissions in Ukraine’s Energy Sector: Underestimated Challenges and Opportunities” by the Green Deal Ukraine (GDU) project, established by Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB).
The study’s authors are GDU energy and climate specialist Alexander Zichener, GDU energy and climate expert Janez Kopac, and GDU energy expert Oleg Savitsky.
As they noted, at average European gas prices (~EUR360/1,000 cubic meters), this volume is worth EUR750–1,100 million annually, while the investments required to realize this potential total between EUR2.4 and EUR3.6 billion over 10 years, or EUR240–360 million per year.
“If we compare the figures, the economic benefit is clear: investing EUR240–360 million annually in emissions reduction will yield EUR750–1,100 million from the ‘captured’ gas,” the study’s authors emphasized.
They note that the issue of methane recovery is taking on particular importance ahead of Ukraine’s accession to the EU and in the context of post-war reconstruction: harmonizing national legislation with the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2024/1787 on methane emissions in the energy sector is mandatory for a candidate country and a member of the Energy Community. At the same time, reducing methane emissions is one of the fastest and most cost-effective climate measures available to Ukraine during the 2026–2045 period, since over a 20-year period (GWP20), methane is more than 80 times more potent than CO₂ as a greenhouse gas, and by a conservative estimate over a 100-year period (GWP100), it is 30 times more potent.
The study indicates that methane accounts for approximately 27% of Ukraine’s total greenhouse gas emissions (63 million tons of CO₂-eq. in 2023 based on GWP100), and over half of the country’s short-term climate impact based on GWP20. Nearly 71% of national methane emissions come from the energy sector.
For more details on the study and a link to it, see the column for the “Interfax-Ukraine” agency’s energy project “Energoreforma.”
British energy company BP announced the acquisition of a 40% stake in a production-sharing agreement covering six oil and gas exploration blocks in the Ustyurt region of Uzbekistan. This marks the company’s return to traditional energy investments.
BP had previously scaled back its exploration activities in the region in 2021 as part of a “green” energy strategy adopted under former CEO Bernard Looney, who committed to reducing oil and gas production by 40% by 2030.
Since then, the company has refocused on fossil fuels.
“We believe Uzbekistan has significant resource potential and view this as an opportunity to support the exploration and development of the country’s oil and gas resources,” said Joe Cristofoli.
BP, GAS, OIL, UZBEKISTAN
In April, China increased oil production by 1.2% compared to the same month last year, reaching 17.94 million tons, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. From January to April, production rose by 0.5% to 72.74 million tons.
Oil refining volumes fell by 5.8% last month to 54.65 million tons, the lowest level since August 2022. From January to April, the figure decreased by 0.5% to 238.95 million tons.
Natural gas production in April rose by 3% to 23.4 billion cubic meters; since the start of the year, production has increased by 2.7% to 90 billion cubic meters.
On April 20, PJSC Ukrgazvydobuvannya (Kyiv) announced its intention to enter into an agreement with Guardian Insurance Company for risk insurance services related to the commercial development of oil and gas fields. According to the Prozorro electronic public procurement system, the expected cost of the services was 548,800 UAH, and the company’s bid was 501,499 UAH.
The insurance company “VUSO” also participated in the tender with a bid that was 1 hryvnia higher.
GAS, Guardian, INSURANCE, INSURANCE COMPANY, OIL, RISK, UKRGAZVYDOBUVANNYA
Hungary has decided to strengthen security around its section of the TurkStream gas pipeline and place it under military control following an incident on Serbian territory, according to the Telegram channel “Serbian Economist”.
According to the report, the decision was made after an emergency meeting of the defence council convened by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said the military would guard the entire Hungarian section of the pipeline — from the border with Serbia to the border with Slovakia.
The move followed an incident in Serbia, where, according to Serbian and Hungarian authorities, powerful explosive devices were found near gas infrastructure through which Russian gas is delivered to Hungary and further into the region.
At the same time, the episode has already triggered political debate. Some publications and commentary in the region question the official version of events and suggest the story may have a political dimension, particularly against the backdrop of the election campaign in Hungary.
Ukraine, for its part, has officially rejected any attempts to link it to the incident in Serbia.
Ukraine, which entered the 2025/26 heating season with gas reserves of 13.2 billion cubic meters, imported an additional 4.6 billion cubic meters to get through it, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal said.
“Ukraine has successfully completed the heating season, despite Russia’s numerous attempts to destroy our energy system. This was achieved, in particular, thanks to the accumulation of sufficient resources,” he wrote on Saturday in a Telegram post following the results of a meeting of the Winter Headquarters for the Elimination of the Consequences of the Energy Emergency.
The Minister of Energy noted that the capacity of the Trans-Balkan Corridor had been increased to 4.2 billion cubic meters of gas per year
Shmyhal also reported that in 2025, Ukrainian gas production amounted to 16.97 billion cubic meters, which is 2.4 billion cubic meters more than forecast, with the private sector demonstrating growth of over 14%.
He added that all nine nuclear power plant units were operational with a total installed capacity of 7,835 MW, and thanks to the maximum electricity import capacity being increased to a record level of 2,450 MW, approximately 3.6 billion kWh were imported in December–February.
The country had sufficient coal reserves throughout the winter: 2.4 million tons of coal were stockpiled, which is 0.8 million tons more than planned, the First Deputy Prime Minister also noted.
He did not specify what gas and coal reserves Ukraine had at the end of the heating season.
According to former Energy Minister Olha Buslavets, since mid-March of this year, gas withdrawal from UGS facilities has shifted to a small injection of about 2 million cubic meters per day. Natural gas reserves in Ukraine’s UGS facilities stood at 9.6 billion cubic meters at the end of March, which is 4.0 billion cubic meters higher than last year, Buslavets wrote on Facebook.
The industry publication ExPro estimated gas production in 2024 at 19.12 billion cubic meters.
