Ukraine continues to expand oil production, despite military operations on its territory. In August this year, it is planned to drill two new wells with an expected production volume of over 100 tons per day. By 2028, the state-owned company Ukrnafta plans to increase oil production by one and a half times.
The history of oil production in Ukraine dates back to ancient times. Already in the 3rd century BC, oil waters were known on the Kerch Peninsula, and in the 13th century in Galicia, “rock oil” was used in medicine and for lubricating wheels.
The beginning of industrial exploitation was noted in 1771 in the Sloboda-Runhurska field, Ivano-Frankivsk region. Over the following centuries, oil production actively developed, in particular in the Boryslav region, which became the largest oil field in Europe at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The first patent in the world for the production of kerosene from oil was obtained in Lviv in 1853.
Ukraine's oil production peaked in 1972, when 14.5 million tons were produced. However, the volume has since declined due to depletion of reserves and the lack of discovery of new large fields.
Today, Ukraine has four oil and gas provinces, which unite nine oil, gas and oil and gas regions. The Eastern region, which includes the Dnipro-Donetsk region, has the largest volumes of explored oil and gas deposits. The Western region covers the Ciskarpattia, Folded Carpathians, Zakarpattia and Volyn-Podilskyi regions with significant deposits.
According to the “Ukrainian Extractive Industry Data Portal”, at the end of 2020, total oil reserves amounted to over 85 million tons, most of which are in the Eastern region. By 2023, oil production has increased by 2.1 million tons, with Ukrnafta accounting for 67% of this volume.
Ukrnafta's plans for the coming years include increased investments in the restoration and modernization of production equipment, aimed at increasing productivity and increasing production.
