MINSK, 7 September (BelTA) – Belarus has sufficient oil reserves for at least 30 years. Director General of the Belarusian industrial group Belorusneft Aleksandr Lyakhov made the statement on the air of the TV channel Belarus One on 6 September, BelTA has learned.
The executive said: “There is enough oil in Belarus for at least 30 years. But we don't stand still. Every year we substitute 100% of the oil we extract by discovering new deposits and reserves.”
Aleksandr Lyakhov also noted that oil extraction in Belarus peaked at 8 million tonnes per annum in 1975. Oil extraction has been falling over many years to reach 1.8 million tonnes per annum. The situation changed four years ago. “We used to build 25-30 oil wells per annum in the past, now we commission about 50 such facilities every year and add 20,000 tonnes of oil. This year we intend to extract 1.73 million tonnes,” the director general said.
Geological exploration work has helped increase the oil extraction volume. At present geological exploration operations are in progress in Lelchitsy District and Yelsk District, Gomel Oblast. Geological exploration operations will begin in Narovlya District and Khoiniki District next year. At present over 90% of the oil is extracted in the northern tectonic structures of the Pripyat Trough. Those are Rechitsa District, Svetlogorsk District, Oktyabrsky District, and Kalinkovichi District, Gomel Oblast.
