Belorusneft plans to produce as much oil in 2014 as in 2013

The industrial group Belorusneft plans to produce 1.65 million tonnes of oil in 2014 or as much as it did in 2013, the company’s press service told BelTA on January 11.

Oil extraction in Belarus peaked in 1976 and has been falling ever since. Specialists believe that it will be possible to stop the trend brought about by the reduction of the extractable resources and the rising amount of difficult oil. Accumulated by using innovations in the last few years, the company’s experience will be able to stop the trend. In 2013 alone as many as 74 measures to introduce new machines and technologies were taken in Belarusian oil fields. In particular, the company introduced coiled tubing drilling, the drilling of multilateral wells, dual, triple and commingled oil recovery (oil recovery from multiple levels simultaneously), water-alternated-gas injection, and the application of oil residue. Each novelty will allow improving oil recovery, keeping the company on the production target.

The active use of modern drill rigs is central to the effort. The rigs allow drilling wells up to 7,000m deep. Every year a Belarusian-Italian joint venture will make 5-6 high-performance stationary and mobile drill rigs for Belarus and 3-4 rigs for foreign projects. It will allow surveying oil fields more effectively and replenishing oil assets.

The accumulated knowledge and skills can then be used in other oil-bearing regions of the world, for instance, for Belorusneft’s newly-acquired assets in Russia. Within the next three years the industrial group intends to raise the extraction of oil and gas condensate in Russia by at least 50%, raising the extraction volume up to 200,000 tonnes per annum.

Copyright: BelTA, 2014