SOCAR to partake in development of Black Sea deposits

Naftogaz Ukrainy has signed a memo of mutual understanding with foreign companies - UAE's Dragon Oil, Azerbaijan's SOCAR AQS, US Helmerich&Payne, INC (H&P), and 3 Seas Energy.

Report informs, citing Ukraine's Ministry of Industry, that the document signing took place within the Ukrainian gas investment congress.

"These memorandums form the basis for partnerships planned within the framework of new strategic projects, such as the development of areas in the Black Sea and tight rocks gas deposits, and towards increasing the efficiency of production in depleted fields," the message says.

The memo signed with SOCAR AQS, an integrated company managing the drilling and construction of wells, envisages cooperation in developing the areas in the Black Sea. According to the message, the Azerbaijani company has vast drilling experience in the Caspian Sea shelf and its own drilling fleet for working offshore.

Commenting on the company's plans, the head of the board of Naftogaz, Yuriy Vitrenko, recalled that the total potential of the company's fields reaches 600 billion cubic meters of gas.

"Our plans for the coming years include exploration and development of new areas in the Black Sea, development of dense and deep gas deposits. The implementation of these initiatives requires more than $ 20 billion in investments and modern technologies that have not yet been properly developed in Ukraine. It is important for us to attract partners and investors to effectively and quickly implement our plans," the company head said.

Naftogaz plans to cooperate with Dragon Oil in the exploration and development of the Black Sea areas. The company notes that Dragon Oil has been operating on the Caspian shelf for 20 years, under production-sharing agreements with the government of Turkmenistan. During the indicated time, it has invested about $7 billion in its development.

Cooperation with 3 Seas Energy and H&P may focus on the development of tight reservoirs throughout Ukraine. 3 Seas Energy will also help improve the development efficiency of already depleted fields within the Product Enhancement Contract (PEC). In turn, H&P, the largest drilling company globally, will be able to help improve the efficiency of Naftogaz's internal drilling contractor, Ukrburgaz.

As reported, "Naftogaz Ukrainy" sets itself the task of increasing natural gas production in the next ten years by 1.8 times - from the current approximately 13 billion cubic meters to 24 billion cubic meters.