Are there “colossal reserves” of gas in Ukraine?
Recently, Verkhovna Rada deputy Sergei Taruta in an interview with NewsOne TV channel reported on the "enormous" natural gas reserves that Ukraine possesses. He claims that Ukraine has the third place in Europe and one of the leading positions in the world in terms of available volumes of blue fuel.
Ukrainian gas
According to Sergey Taruta, solid investments and introduction of the latest of technologies in the oil and gas industry:
Moreover, the parliamentarian believes that Ukraine is able not only to provide gas to its needs, but also after about 10 years to start exporting it abroad. Taruta believes that in this way it is possible to significantly reduce gas prices in the domestic market, and hence the cost price of many types of products in the production technology of which natural gas is involved. He says that gas prices could even fall by half.
Dreams and Reality
As is often the case with Ukrainian politicians, in the statement of Taruta fantasy and reality are mixed. If we talk about traditional natural gas fields in Ukraine, they are quite large, but far from colossal. According to experts, about 20 billion cubic meters are produced annually in the country. This is not too much, although by European standards, the figure is quite impressive.
If we talk about colossal reserves, then we can only talk about shale gas, which in Ukraine really is. But at the moment, too high costs of its production make it unprofitable. A number of European and American companies planned to start developing shale deposits. However, after the research they all abandoned this idea.
Actually, nobody has yet succeeded in mastering the efficient development of shale deposits in Europe. Great Britain and Poland tried to do this, but they abandoned this idea. Similar research is currently being carried out by Romania, but there are practically no prospects. Too expensive. In general, the Europeans have not yet been able to repeat the successes of the Americans in the production of shale gas.
Prospects for the Ukrainian gas industry
Of course, Taruta exaggerated everything in his statements, but this does not mean that Ukrainian gas production has no prospects. True, they are not so rosy. Shale gas production in Ukraine today is unpromising due to its too high cost. As for traditional gas production, with some effort, it is possible to increase gas production rates to 30 billion cubic meters per year.
True, for this it will be necessary to completely reform the oil and gas industry, re-equip it technically and provide it with significant tax benefits. Of course, there can be no question of any export, but this would allow Ukraine to fully satisfy its own needs for natural gas. Given the fact that production rates in Ukraine are declining annually, and the population is declining, the demand for gas is also not growing.
But under the current leadership, the country is unlikely to carry out reforms in any production sector, including oil and gas.
Ukrainian gas
According to Sergey Taruta, solid investments and introduction of the latest of technologies in the oil and gas industry:
We need 5-7 billion investment in the oil and gas industry using new modern technologies that will fully ensure our independence in imports. This means that we will lower our prices. This can be done in five years.
Moreover, the parliamentarian believes that Ukraine is able not only to provide gas to its needs, but also after about 10 years to start exporting it abroad. Taruta believes that in this way it is possible to significantly reduce gas prices in the domestic market, and hence the cost price of many types of products in the production technology of which natural gas is involved. He says that gas prices could even fall by half.
Dreams and Reality
As is often the case with Ukrainian politicians, in the statement of Taruta fantasy and reality are mixed. If we talk about traditional natural gas fields in Ukraine, they are quite large, but far from colossal. According to experts, about 20 billion cubic meters are produced annually in the country. This is not too much, although by European standards, the figure is quite impressive.
If we talk about colossal reserves, then we can only talk about shale gas, which in Ukraine really is. But at the moment, too high costs of its production make it unprofitable. A number of European and American companies planned to start developing shale deposits. However, after the research they all abandoned this idea.
Actually, nobody has yet succeeded in mastering the efficient development of shale deposits in Europe. Great Britain and Poland tried to do this, but they abandoned this idea. Similar research is currently being carried out by Romania, but there are practically no prospects. Too expensive. In general, the Europeans have not yet been able to repeat the successes of the Americans in the production of shale gas.
Prospects for the Ukrainian gas industry
Of course, Taruta exaggerated everything in his statements, but this does not mean that Ukrainian gas production has no prospects. True, they are not so rosy. Shale gas production in Ukraine today is unpromising due to its too high cost. As for traditional gas production, with some effort, it is possible to increase gas production rates to 30 billion cubic meters per year.
True, for this it will be necessary to completely reform the oil and gas industry, re-equip it technically and provide it with significant tax benefits. Of course, there can be no question of any export, but this would allow Ukraine to fully satisfy its own needs for natural gas. Given the fact that production rates in Ukraine are declining annually, and the population is declining, the demand for gas is also not growing.
But under the current leadership, the country is unlikely to carry out reforms in any production sector, including oil and gas.
Information