Prime Minister: Ukraine will increase oil output
2011-03-24 09:49:06
Ukraine will increase its oil production, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said, speaking at the national assembly of all-level council deputies from the Party of Regions.
According to him, in order to increase oil production by about 1 million tons, nearly $10 billion is necessary.
The Prime Minister said that this year Ukraine will begin to explore new oil deposits, but it takes years to proceed from exploration to development. "But, nevertheless, such work has begun. It will be conducted. And we are certainly going to increase oil production," he assured.
The Prime Minister believes if Ukraine could produce 70% of oil required to the state, it would have been able to dictate prices in the oil market. In this context, he noted that the increase in the prices of petroleum products in Ukraine is connected with the global rise in oil prices.
Crude oil production in Ukraine in 2010 amounted to 2.568,9 million tons. Ukraine imported crude oil with gas condensate in the amount of 4,171.265 million dollars, which is 39.5% more compared with 2009.