MINSK, 12 February (BelTA) - The Belarusian industrial group Belorusneft intends to increase oil production in Russia in 2018 by 20% to as much as 180,000 tonnes, BelTA learned from Belorusneft Deputy Director General, Chief Engineer Vladimir Goshkis.
Since the acquisition of Yangpur Oil Company, Belorusneft has extracted over 570,000 tonnes of oil and more than 590 million cubic meters of associated and natural gas in Russia. “In 2018, we plan to extract over 180,000 tonnes of oil at Yangpur. The production volume of all related products should exceed 390,000 tonnes in oil equivalent. Last year, we extracted more than 150,000 tonnes of oil in Russia,” Vladimir Goshkis remarked.
In line with the plans for the period up to 2023, the company aims to gradually augment oil production. This is why Belorusneft pays close attention to oil and gas exploration in Siberia, the chief engineer added. Moreover, Belorusneft monitors the license blocks auctioned in Russia to purchase them.
As for the oil output in Belarus, the company expects it to reach 1.67 million tonnes this year (up 20,000 tonnes versus 2017). “In the last four years, we did not slow down oil production, with the volumes standing at 1.645 million tonnes a year. We have set a task to boost oil production to 1.65 million tonnes in 2017 and we have accomplished it,” Vladimir Goshkis said.
Most Belarusian oil fields are at the fourth stage of development, which requires heavy capital expenditure and cutting-edge technologies. At the same time, the oil production costs have to remain unchanged. A massive impetus is also given to the exploration of hard-to-recover reserves and search for new oil fields.
The Belarusian industrial group Belorusneft was founded in 1966. The company specializes in the surveying, prospecting and development of oil fields, well drilling, oil and associated petroleum gas extraction in Belarus and a number of other countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Ecuador.