Belarus discovers 8 new oil deposits over past five years
09.04.2024
GOMEL, 9 April (BelTA) - Eight new oil deposits have been discovered in Belarus over the past five years, Deputy Director General for Geology at the Belarusian industrial group Belorusneft Piotr Povzhik told a press conference on 8 April, BelTA has learned.
The company’s strategic area is to increase oil production. “Thanks to the active increase in exploration work over the last five years, eight new oil deposits have been discovered in the southeastern region. The increase in recoverable reserves made up 7.5 million tonnes. Since 2018, we have achieved 100% compensation of oil production by the increase in recoverable reserves. We plan to maintain this trend in the future. We have already discovered three new deposits in 2021,” said Piotr Povzhik.
The new discovery in April is the Guryanovskoye oil deposit located in the central zone of the Pripyat Trough in Rechitsa District, Gomel Oblast. Aleksandr Grudinin, Deputy Director for Geological Exploration at the Belarusian Oil Research and Design Institute BelNIPIneft, said that the site features good light oil, which is easier to produce and there is no need to use additional technologies for its extraction.
Geological services make very cautious forecasts for the debit. “Fountain flow is expected at the level of 20-30 tonnes per day. It is quite an achievement for our region. In future with the application of the newest technologies we may expect the oil production of up to 50 tonnes per day,” says Deputy Head for Geology at Rechitsaneft Sergei Shevelenko.
Within the next two years the company is going to drill 12 more prospecting and exploratory wells aimed to discover new deposits. Recent discoveries confirm the potential of the central structural zone of the Pripyat Trough. In general, eight deposits were discovered in this structural zone, five of which during the last three years.
According to world statistics, on average 3-4 out of 10 exploration wells become productive commercial oil fields. In Belarus, this percentage is somewhat higher - about 60%.
The company plans to produce a total of 1.73 million tonnes of oil in 2021.
The Belarusian industrial group Belorusneft was founded in 1966. The company specializes in exploration, prospecting, and development of oil fields, well drilling, extraction of oil and associated petroleum gas. Belorusneft also offers oil industry services in other countries.