Ukraine Looks to Shale Gas Production
Ukraine plans to begin production of shale gas in 5-7 years, Minister of Fuel and Coal Industry Yuriy Boiko has said.
"We are carefully studying the experience of America in this technological revolution. We are trying to pass this way faster than America - it took 20 years for the project there. I think for us it will take no more than 5-7 years," the minister said.
Boiko noted that "we have already started this process, issued the first license, prepared auctions ... American companies have already signed agreements with our national companies to start this work".
According to him, experts from the U.S. believe that the situation with shale gas in Ukraine is more attractive than in the U.S., "but the real situation will be clear until mid-2012.
The minister also said that Ukraine is currently actively negotiating with the world's leading energy companies having experience in development and production of shale gas.
Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of Ukraine Mykola Zlochevsky commented that reserves of shale gas in Ukraine are at least 30 trillion cubic meters, but could double after the completion of resource assessment by American experts.
According Zlochevsky, current estimates of Ukrainian experts and their counterparts from the U.S. are very different, because under the concept of shale gas in different countries "implies not only the gas associated with organic shales, and coalbed methane, gas caps, and methane gas tsentralnobasseynovogo type."
In February, U.S. and Ukrainian officials signed an memorandum of cooperation to deploy the U.S. Geological Survey to assess potential energy resources in Ukraine, including an appraisal of shale gas resources from unconventional sources.
State owned Naftogaz Ukrainy and ExxonMobil have entered into a memorandum under which the companies will jointly pursue exploration Ukrainian reserves of shale gas, coal mine methane and other alternative types of gas.
Zlochevsky noted that shale gas reserves in the Donets Basin were estimated at 11.3 trillion cubic meters, in the Central Basin - eight trillion cubic meters, in Volyn and a part of Podillia - over three trillion cubic meters, and an additional at least eight trillion cubic meters of shale gas.
Zlochevsky said that Ukraine will hold a tender on product sharing agreements in early to mid-summer 2011. In addition to ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Chevron Corp., TNK-BP and Gazprom have expressed interest in exploring for unconventional gas in Ukraine.
Source: National News Agency of Ukraine, NGFE Archives