Ukrnafta will try what Chevron failed to do: develop the Oleske field
9 April 10:56
PJSC Ukrnafta will develop the Oleska field in Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions under a production sharing agreement (PSA). This is reported by the specialized publication ExPro, "Komersant Ukrainian" informs.
By its resolution, the Cabinet of Ministers agreed to transfer 100% of the rights and obligations of Nadra Oleska LLC, owned by NJSC Nadra of Ukraine, to Ukrnafta.
What is known about the Oleska field
Oleska field is a gas shale deposit. It is located in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil regions. According to other sources, the Oleska area covers production areas only in Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.
According to geologists, the prospective conventional and unconventional gas reserves in the Oleska area amount to approximately 3 trillion cubic meters of gas.
Development of the Oleska hydrocarbon field has a long history
The state of Ukraine, Chevron Ukraine B.V. and Nadra Oleska LLC signed a production sharing agreement for hydrocarbon production at the Oleska area (Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions) on November 5, 2013.
The Ukrainian party to the Oleska field development agreement was Nadra Oleska LLC, a joint venture of the state-owned NJSC Nadra of Ukraine (90% stake in the joint venture) and SPK-Geoservice LLC (10% stake).
Chevron planned to invest $350 million initially. At the same time, the total investment in gas production in this region, according to American estimates at the time, could exceed $10 billion.
It was projected that production at the Oleska field would range from 5 to 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year under the agreement. And the signing of the Production Sharing Agreement will allow to start exploration and production of shale gas in the Oleska area, which has projected resources of 2.98 trillion cubic meters of gas.
However, in 2014, Chevron decided to unilaterally withdraw from the Oleska field development project. And in July 2014, Chevron Ukraine B.V. announced the termination of its activities in Ukraine.
What we know about Ukrnafta
In 2024, compared to 2023, Ukrnafta increased gas production by 6.5% to 1.170 bcm. At the same time, oil production increased by 0.6% to 1.418 million tons. the company ended 2023 with a net profit of UAH 23.6 billion.
In November 2022, Ukrnafta came under the control of the Ministry of Defense along with four other strategic enterprises of Ukraine: Ukrtatnafta, AvtoKrAZ, Motor Sich and Zaporizhtransformator.
Previously, Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta were part of the energy business empire of the informal Privat group, owned by Ihor Kolomoisky and Hennadiy Boholyubov.
