23 January 2003
Beltransgaz plans to increase capacity of its gas storage facility in Brest region
Beltransgaz, Belarus' state-owned gas pipeline operator, plans to increase the daily capacity of the Pribugskoye subsurface gas storage facility in the Brest region to 6 million cubic meters of gas.
The facility, located near the village of Volchin, Kamenets district, is designed for storing gas for use during the fall and winter period, as well as in the event of an emergency. Last week experts of Beltransgaz and the Giprospetsgaz design bureau in St. Petersburg visited the site to study the technical and economic aspects of the facility's capacity increase.
The facility operated in a trial mode throughout 2001 and 2002 and was said to have no harmful effect on the environment. The current capacity allows it to pump 2.3 million cubic meters of gas out of wells a day. Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian experts are considering the possibility of increasing the capacity to 6 million and are expected to draw their conclusion this April. If they approve the plan, Beltransgaz may begin reconstructing the facility as early as 2004.
Belarus consumes 60 million cubic meters of gas in winter. The capacity of the country's largest and oldest storage facility in Osipovichi, Minsk region, that has been in operation since 1976 cannot be increased any more, whereas the Pribugskoye facility has a potential for enlargement, experts say.
http://brestonline.com/en/news/news344.html