Belarus continues to increase oil production, 2.8% growth expected in 2024 - Belorusneft CEO

MINSK. Sept 9 (Interfax) - Belarus could boost oil production 2.8% to 1.93 million tonnes in 2024, said Alexander Lyakhov, CEO of the state-owned Belorusneft oil producer.

"The significant contribution made by wells commissioned in August is encouraging - judging by well interventions, targets for the year should be exceeded. Production from new wells and sidetracks will be the highest in decades," the state BelTA news agency quoted Lyakhov as saying.

He said the company produced 1.278 million tonnes of oil in Belarus in January-August. "These are impressive results for our region, they exceed the planned level for this period. The oil is produced by legacy wells and with well interventions, where we have also exceeded targets," he said.

Lyakhov said in March than oil production could reach 1.92 million tonnes this year.

He also confirmed plans to increase oil production to at least 2 million tonnes in 2025. "We plan to produce at least 2 million tonnes of oil - that's how much we used to extract more than 30 years ago. What we are doing today in geology, oil production technologies, working with hard-to-recover reserves whose share in the mix is growing, suggests that we will continue to grow oil production," he said.

Oil production grew 3.9% to 1.88 million tonnes in 2023 from 1.81 million tonnes in 2022. Oil was produced at 53 deposits.

Commercial hydrocarbon production in Belarus began in 1965 and is concentrated in the area of the Pripyat Depression in Gomel and Mogilev regions. Around 145 million tonnes of oil and more than 16 billion cubic meters of associated gas have been produced since development began. Oil production peaked at 7.96 million tonnes in 1975, after which it began to decline, reaching a low of 1.65 million tonnes in 2013.

Most of the proven oil reserves in Belarus are hard-to-recover reserves. Most output comes from the largest fields: Rechitskoye, Ostashkovichskoye, Vishanskoye and Yuzhno-Ostashkovichskoye.

A total of 95 oil and gas condensate fields have been discovered in Belarus and 60 oil fields are being developed. Wells total more than 1,000, of which 826 are in operation.

Belarus use to export all the oil it produced to Germany, but that came to a stop in December 2021 due to EU sanctions, and Belorusneft started to supply it to the country's own refineries.