Ukrnafta considering restoring 500 closed wells

The Ukrnafta company is considering the possibility of restoring about 500 inactive wells, the director of the company, Sergii Koretskyi, stated in an interview with the specialized publication Expro.

"We have identified approximately 1,200 wells that belong to Ukrnafta, but are located on licensed areas that belong to others. This is a huge potential. Ukrnafta cannot work on these wells on its own — they are located on other people's licensed areas. But we can negotiate cooperation with the holders of special permits," said the official.

"In the same way, in addition to 1,800 of our own wells that are in operation, we also have 4,300 liquidated, inactive, etc., if we conduct a detailed audit, then, according to our estimates, at least 10% can be restored," he said.

Koretskyi explained that during the times of the USSR, oil wells that yielded 5-10 tons per day were simply liquidated, and after Ukraine gained independence, the wells were often not drilled due to a lack of money.

"There were many such cases, and there are guaranteed to be such among our liquidated wells. Given the modern technological possibilities of restoration and major repairs, together on our and foreign license areas, it is possible to restore about 500 inactive wells today," he said.

The company also announced that it is resuming exploration and prospecting, which it has not been doing for the past 10 years.

Ukrnafta has 89 fields and only one special permit for geological study on an area of 200 square kilometers. The company will carry out geological exploration work there.

"We also plan to participate in auctions for new special permits. We are negotiating with other companies that have special permits regarding possible cooperation. We also plan to attract domestic and foreign investors to our deposits, which have the prospect of further exploration and development and require significant capital investment," said Volodymyr Hryshanenko, adviser to the director on production issues.

The state assumed physical control over Ukrnafta on November 9. The next day, Sergii Koretskyi headed the enterprise. He previously held the position of general director of the WOG gas station network.

In February, Koretskyi said that the company discovered a physical shortage of hundreds of thousands of tons of oil worth billions of hryvnias, which is still recorded on Ukrnafta's balance sheet.