Problems and prospects for the stabilization and growth of natural gas production in Ukraine

We present the results of analysis of the resource base of gas production in Ukraine and structure of recoverable reserves, which showed that the structure of established resources affects not only the volumes but also the character of dynamics of natural gas production. It is proposed to consider separately the problems of stabilization of the volumes of natural gas production and the problems of increasing its production, because they differ significantly in technical and technological processes, the level of risks and expenses, and the timing of production. Taking into account the complicated structure of Ukrainian natural gas reserves that are under development, the priority lines of work for the stabilization of production volumes have been formed. It is established that, due to the improvement of field-production systems, it is possible to provide only the compensation of their natural fall and to keep production at the current level of 20 – 21 billion m3 per year. We show that an increase in natural gas production is possible only under conditions of rapid and efficient performing exploratory works for the accretion of recoverable reserves of natural gas in amounts of at least 40 – 50 billion m3 per year, which is possible only on the basis of the latest high-performance technological processes and methodological decisions of at least the average world level. We analyzed the potential natural gas resources from various sources, including unconventional, and showed the need for development at the national level of individual programs of resources development for each of these sources with accelerated application of traditional, especially hard-to-recover reserves and resources. We obtained estimates of the cost and duration of main stages of the application of natural gas resources and reserves, depending on the reserves of fields and reservoir depths. Finally, the possibility of full supply of Ukrainian consumers with domestic natural gas was estimated.