OREANDA-NEWS  The Ukrgasvydobycha company announced the discovery of a large gas field on the territory of Ukraine. According to preliminary estimates, its reserves may reach a billion cubic meters. This was reported by RIA Novosti with reference to the press service of Naftogaz of Ukraine.

Tests of the well with a depth of about four kilometers were carried out "from scratch", they were successfully completed in August. Before drilling, specialists conducted a 3D seismic survey.

Since the beginning of the year, Ukrgasvydobycha has already opened several new fields. The head of Naftogaz, Alexey Chernyshev, noted at the beginning of the summer that seven new wells had been commissioned in the country in five months, and the company expects to produce 13.5 billion cubic meters of gas in total this year.

The day before, on August 28, Chernyshev said that by the end of the summer, Ukraine had accumulated 14 billion cubic meters of gas in underground gas storage facilities (UGS). At the same time, 14.7 billion cubic meters, according to calculations, will be enough to pass the winter season even under unfavorable scenarios. According to him, fuel imports may be needed only to create reserves in special cases.

Before that, the representative of the European Commission (EC), Stefan de Keersmaeker, said that Europe had fulfilled the plan to fill the UGS 2.5 months ahead of schedule. It was possible to reach the level of 90 percent not by November 1, but by mid-August, while the cost of fuel was several times lower than a year ago.