OREANDA-NEWS. April 07, 2014. The unstable political situation in Ukraine has further cooled Estonian interest in its oil shale resources, with Viru Keemia Grupp postponing studies in the Boltysh deposit in Ukraine.

The company, which mines and processes oil shale in Estonia received a permit in 2007 to explore the area, where 350 million tons can be mined.

ETV reported today the company will relaunch exploration operations after the political situation calms, adding that they did not plan any investments during the era of the Viktor Yanukovych presidency, as corruption levels were too high.

The company has said the oil shale is of the same quality as in Estonia and its technology could be used to produce shale oil from the Ukrainian resource.

Both VKG and Eesti Energia, the two biggest players in the Estonian oil shale industry, have looked abroad to expanding their business as Estonia has a strict annual limit on oil shale mining.
The Boltysh deposit is located in central Ukraine, near the basin of the Tiasmyn River, a tributary of the Dnieper River. The region is most famous for an impact crater in the Kirovohrad Oblast, which is 24 kilometers in diameter.