Skochinsky Mine Methane Capture and Utilization

Sector

Coal Industry

Proponent/Project Owner

Skochynsky Mine (City of Donetsk)

Background

Skochynsky Mine, in the City of Donetsk, is one of 241 coal mines in Ukraine. The area of its reserve fields is 80 km². The total methane reserves are 6.8 billion m³ and the coal seams produce 16-21 m³ of methane per ton of coal. In 1999, the company produced approximately 800,000 tons of coal. Skochynsky Mine is a state owned company with 3,000 employees and part of the Donvuhillia holding. Beside being a greenhouse gas, methane largely complicates the process of coal mining. On the other hand, it is a potential source of heat and electric power. it can be also used as an automobile fuel (compressed gas). Capturing and utilization of methane is critical for GHG emissions reduction.

Project Goal and GHGs Targeted

The company has conducted a preliminary assessment of the potential methane reserves and reduction of emissions, and has developed a business plan. The project suggests capturing and upgrading methane by drilling six wells. The captured methane can be used by the mine to produce heat by the enterprise's five boiler houses. An increase in methane recovery would reduce gas content in existing seams and those seams intended for future mining and reduce the mine’s costs of generating heat and electricity for the mine’s own and other needs. Coal bed methane recovery and utilization is important for GHG emissions reduction. The mine’s business plan proposes to drill six wells during the pilot phase with an additional 144 during project implementation. A preliminary estimate for the pilot phase shows that over 30 million m³ of methane could be recovered from each well over the next ten years.

Estimated Cost

The project pilot phase has an estimated cost of US$ 6.2 million.

Status and Financing

The company is seeking a partner/investor to implement the project and is considering various finance mechanisms – an interest-based long-term loan, financial or operational leasing, Joint Implementation project, or creation of a new entity to implement the project etc. The business plan is available in Ukrainian and English.

Contact Information

All interested parties please contact the Climate Initiative Center or
Leonid P. Sezonov, Chief Engineer, Skochynsky Mine
tel. (380 62) 272-43-90, fax (380 62) 272-42-10