Belorusneft Increased Proven Oil Reserves by 1.7 Million Tons
10:29, 5 April
In 2019, Belarus incremented its hydrocarbon reserves, in particular the oil ones. The exploration was conducted by Belorusneft and the SPC for geology. As a result, in 2019 state production association Belorusneft announced an increase of 1.7 million tons of oil, said Head of the Natural Resources Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus Vasily Kolb, reports the Union State portal correspondent.
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“Over the year, the SPC for geology has achieved an increase in pre-estimated oil reserves of 978 thousand tons. Moreover, the works carried out at Novoelsk oil field, which was explored back in 2010, resulted in an increase of proven reserves of 646 thousand tons,” commented Vasily Kolb.
Besides that, in 2019 geologists ensured a five-million-ton increase in the reserves of quartz sand suitable for the glass-production industry. According to the expert, this will facilitate the transition from PET packaging to glass containers as well as reduce imports of quartz sand from Ukraine and Russia.
“The NPC for geology is also completing works aimed to find new areas with quartz sand. Prospecting works are now coming to an end. A report on the prospects of the studied areas is be prepared in 2020. I think the relevant studies will continue, especially considering the necessity to switch to glass packaging,” says Vasily Kolb.
The search for basalts continues as well. The first field was discovered in Pinsk district in 2017. The assessment of actual reserves is expected to be completed by the end of 2020. According to preliminary data, they can total at least 10 million tons.
It is worth noting that on April 5th geologists celebrated their professional holiday. According to Vasily Kolba, the role of geologists today is to explore mineral deposits for further development and production use. To this end, Belarus has started regional geological mapping of the territory. At the moment, geologists are identifying deposits of new types of minerals in Gomel region.
