Page 78 - UKRRptNov23

9.0 Industry & Sectors 9.1 Sector news
9.1.1 Oil & gas sector news
Foreign companies storing 24 billion cubic meters of gas in Ukraine. Foreign traders are storing 2.4 billion cubic meters of gas in Ukraine’s underground gas storage facilities (UGS), Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said on Oct. 16.
The Ukrainian state oil and gas extracting company Ukrnafta is seeking investors to develop 21 oil and gas fields in Ukraine, UBN reported on October 10.
These fields are spread across the western and eastern regions of the country and the company hopes to boost domestic production of oil and gas extraction rates at these known but underutilized deposits.
While not as hydrocarbon rich as some of its neighbours in the Former Soviet Union (FSU), Ukraine processes enough oil and gas in two basins in the east and west of the country to cover its own domestic needs in theory. It currently produces about 20 billion cubic meters of gas a year, against a demand of about 35bcm.
Ukrnafta says that these fields possess substantial reserves, with proven and probable reserves exceeding 12mn tonnes of oil and over 31bcm of gas, according to Serhiy Koretskyi, the director of Ukrnafta.
To facilitate this investment opportunity, potential partners are expected to make financial commitments towards technology, exploration, and production activities. The company intends to prioritize product sharing agreements, a system where investors assume the responsibility and risk for searching, exploring, and extracting minerals within designated subsoil areas in exchange for a portion of the production.
In this arrangement, Ukrnafta will provide the deposit itself and grant access to the existing mining infrastructure. Meanwhile, the partnering investor will contribute a comprehensive development plan for the deposit, strategies to increase production, and financing to support operational activities.
The EU and Moldova have pumped three billion cubic meters of gas into Ukraine's storage. The GTS Operator transported this volume of gas to Ukraine from April to October of the current year. Out of the gas transported, 2.4 billion cubic meters of the gas in storage is owned by foreign companies. According to data from the GTSO of Ukraine, Slovakia became the primary driver of natural gas transportation, with 45% of the gas volume. Natural gas was also supplied from Hungary, Poland, and the Trans-Balkan route (from Romania via Moldova). The Trans-Balkan route was used for the first time this year, mainly transporting gas ordered by foreign traders for storage in Ukraine. “The three billion cubic meters of gas that has arrived in Ukraine since April is the response from foreign companies to our efforts and a sign of confidence in
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