Business news

GOMEL, 2 November (BelTA) - The Belarusian oil company Belorusneft and the Paraguayan state oil company Petropar have reached an agreement on cooperation in hydrocarbon exploration, BelTA learnt from the press service of the Belarusian oil company Belorusneft.

The relevant agreement was reached during the visit of the Petropar delegation led by President of the company Romulo Campos to Gomel. The matter concerns the estimate examination of the data that will be used to decide on the advisability of geologic exploration in Blocks No.3 and No.12 in the Paraguayan semi-desert Chaco.

With this goal in mind, belorusneft geologists will go to Latin America in the near future to analyze the data on Blocks No.3 and No.12 and familiarize with the tender documents. If Belarusian specialists find arguments confirming the presence of hydrocarbons in the region, next steps of the joint activity will be discussed.

The information of possible oil reserves in Chaco was made public in 2006. However, no seismic exploration has been conducted in the area.

In the recent years Belorusneft has been actively developing the markets of services in the oil sector and hydrocarbon production in the Latin American countries. Thus, for instance, the joint Belarusian-Venezuelan oil company Petrolera BeloVenezolana is engaged in the exploration of seven oil and six gas fields. Since the agreement on cooperation was signed in 2006, the company has produced 6.5 million tonnes of oil and 4.2 billion cubic meters of gas. There is also a joint service company.

Belorusneft has been present on the Ecuadorean market of seismic exploration and services since 2012. In the spring of this year the company entered in a consortium with a share of 7%m with the local Petroamazonas and Chilean ENAP. The consortium was created for oil exploration and production in the Amazon region (Block 28 in Pastaza province). In addition, an agreement was signed to provide integrated specialized services to optimize production, improve reservoir recovery and to conduct geologic exploration at the Armadillo field (Block 55). The 2015-2016 plans include the drilling of nine operating wells, one injection and two exploration wells.

In 2015 Belorusneft opened a branch in Argentina. The company filed an application to participate in the tender for carrying out 3D seismic exploration at the Piedras Negras and Mangrullo sections.

The industrial group Belorusneft was founded in 1966. The company specializes in the surveying, prospecting and development of oil fields, well drilling, oil and associated petroleum gas extraction in Belarus and other countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Ecuador.