Photo: Ukrnafta press service

Ukrnafta has announced the launch of exploration activities at the Oleska field, a vast oil and gas prospect in western Ukraine spanning over 6,000 square kilometers.

According to a statement on the company’s website, Ukrnafta plans to search for both conventional oil and gas deposits, as well as unconventional energy resources such as shale gas and tight gas. If successful, this exploration could mark the beginning of unconventional hydrocarbon production in Ukraine.

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The project is expected to reduce Ukraine’s dependence on energy imports and create new jobs in the Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.

The Oleska field will significantly expand Ukrnafta’s resource base: 6,324 square kilometers of new oil and gas prospects are being added to the existing 2,125 square kilometers already under development.

Ukrnafta is the largest oil producer in Ukraine, holding more than 80 special permits for hydrocarbon production and operating the country’s largest network of 545 filling stations. As of March 1, 2025, the company was producing oil and gas from 1,810 oil wells and 161 gas wells.
  • Since 2014, Chevron Ukraine B.V. and Nadra Oleska LLC had held a special permit for exploration and development of the Oleska field in the Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions. Chevron initially planned to invest $350 million in gas exploration, with total investments in production expected to exceed $10 billion.
  • However, in 2014, Chevron unilaterally withdrew from the project and later announced the termination of its operations in Ukraine.
  • In May 2025, Ukraine’s State Service of Geology and Mineral Resources officially transferred the special permit to Ukrnafta.
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Ukrnaftagas productionukrnaftashale gasOleska site