Ukrnafta plans to raise reserves replacement ratio to 100%
MOSCOW. May 26 (Interfax) - Ukraine's PJSC Ukrnafta plans, as a result of hydrocarbon exploration, to more than triple its reserves replacement ratio, bringing it to 100%, the company's director Sergei Koretsky said at the 3rd Oil and Gas Anti-Crisis Conference, held by the Newfolk Oil and Gas Consulting Center in Lvov.
"Presently, Ukrnafta has 24 million tonnes of 2P reserves on its balance sheet according to the PRMS international framework for classifying reserves. There are more than 250 million tonnes of reserves and resources on the state balance sheet of subsoil assets. Potentially, these reserves may become commercial as a result of exploration and development of deposits," Ukrainian media quoted Koretsky as saying in a statement published on the Ukrnafta website on Thursday.
Ukrnafta's reserves replacement ratio currently stands at 30%, he said.
"It means that we add only one-third of new reserves per tonne of extracted oil. This figure should be more than 100% - at the level of the benchmarks of neighboring European companies," the top manager said.
Ukrnafta plans to invest in expanding its resource base in 2023, including in hydrocarbon exploration under existing special permits, he said. The company also intends to acquire promising "dormant" special permits and special permits whose owners are willing to increase the intensity of exploration and development operations.
"Today, out of our 89 special permits, there is only one that allows us to conduct a geological survey of 200 square kilometers in the west of Ukraine for the purpose of exploration. This special permit is 20 years old. No one has used it over this entire period of time, though the area is beyond any doubt promising," Koretsky said.
Ukrnafta plans to conduct there a seismic survey using 3D technology and exploratory drilling over a period of one year, he said. The last time the company carried out similar operations was about ten years ago.
As reported, in January-March 2023, Ukrnafta carried out a number of organizational and technical operations at the wells, which made it possible to increase the average daily oil production by more than 100 tonnes, and the daily output of associated gas by 30,000 cubic meters.
Ukrnafta said its goal is to raise oil production by 6% in 2023, and to continue to increase it over the next five years. This year, the company plans to drill three new wells and three sidetracks.
The Ukrainian authorities decided on November 5, 2022 to expropriate Ukrnafta shares, except for the stake held by Naftogaz, as military assets while martial law remains in effect. A stake of about 42% was owned by the firms belonging to Igor Kolomoisky and Gennady Bogolyubov prior to that.
Ukrnafta had 89 hydrocarbon deposits with 3,700 oil and gas wells as of the end of March 2023. It operated 451 filling stations.