OREANDA-NEWS. August 27, 2010. Belarus plans to build new gas pipelines in Gomel, Mogilev and Brest oblasts, reads the energy strategy of the Republic of Belarus through 2020. The text of the document approved by Council of Ministers’ Resolution No. 1180 is available at the national legal portal.

The priorities singled out in the document include the construction of gas distribution networks from the existing low-loaded stations to large fuel consumers and the conversion to natural gas. The scale of construction will depend on the amount of gas supplies to the country. Other priorities include the construction of gas distribution networks in the settlements which have a gas supply service, conversion of housing stock from liquefied to natural gas.

According to the data cited in the strategy, the capacity of the gas pipeline network in Belarus is 51 billion cubic meters a year. The capacity of the Belarusian part of the Russian gas pipeline Yamal-Europe is 33 billion cubic meters a year. Through the pipelines passing via Belarus Russian natural gas is delivered to Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian Federation. The total length of the gas distribution pipelines is 40,100 kilometers, of them 20,300 kilometers go through rural areas. Natural gas service is provided to about 65% of the housing stock of the country.