The status of strategic projects implementation to increase the resource base and interim results of 2021 production activities - these topics were discussed by the Naftogaz Exploration and Production Division Expert Counsel, which includes 11 outstanding scientists and practitioners of the gas production in Ukraine.

At the regular meeting, experienced experts, jointly with key managers of the company, discussed in detail how the implementation of exploration projects and/or preparatory work for production operations on Yuzivskaya area, new production sharing agreements (PSA) blocks and the Black Sea blocks are progressing.

"Thanks, among other things, to the participation of the Expert Counsel, this year Naftogaz has received licences for new promising areas, which increased our resource potential by almost 5 times. In a short time, we have formed project teams and started working on these assets. General practice - it takes at least 2-3 years onshore and 5-7 years offshore from the start of projects to the first gas production. However, we are trying to shorten these deadlines as much as possible, given the importance of increasing Ukrainian gas production for the country," Olexander Romaniuk, director of the Naftogaz Exploration and Production Division Director said.

At the same time, the company continues to work on increasing the resource base on assets that were previously on its balance sheet. So, according to the data presented, in the Q2 2021, geologists of the Division proved additional C and U cat. resources. The former were increased by 28%, the latter – by 26%.

The experts also reviewed interim production results and production plans until the end of 2021. For 8 months of 2021, the company produced 5.1% less than in the same period last year, due to the acceleration of the baseline decline, the shift in the timing of commissioning of compressor stations in depleted fields and the lack of gas from service operations.

They also discussed problematic issues that do not contribute to production, including: simplification of the goods and services procurement procedure, amendments to the GTS Code to stimulate in-house production, and solving the issue of updating Safety Rules in the oil and gas industry.

The meeting of the Expert Counsel was attended by Yuriy Vitrenko, Naftogaz of Ukraine NJSC Chief Executive Officer, who noted:

"Attracting external expertise and many years of experience that the members of the Expert Council have is exactly what our company needs today. This helps not only to solve difficult, often crisis issues, but also to upgrade skills of our employees, expand their horizons and look at their work from a new angle. I am sincerely grateful to the participants of the Expert Council for their help in this and hope that together we will be able to move from production decline to its growth."

Members of the Expert Council welcomed the new participant in their ranks – for the first time, the meeting was attended by Yuriy Fesenko, who until June 2021 for many years was helding the position of a Head of the Shebelinkagazvidobuvannya GPD. A minute of silence was also observed in memory of Igor Ivanovich Muzychko, who passed away this spring.