A new oil deposit named as Geologicheskoye has been found at the border of the Svetlogorsk and Rechitsa regions of the Gomel oblast, press service of Belorusneft company told BelTA.
On December 27 when exploring a productive strata 4,400-4,500 metres deep an influx of high-gravity oil with the density of 0.78 grams per cubic centimetre, with the debit as high as 120 cubic metres daily, was achieved. The well is being examined to assess the reserves of the oil field. The initial geological and industrial data indicate that the Geologicheskoye will not be a small oil deposit.
Along with adding another source of oil, which will keep oil extraction in Belarus at a steady level, the Geologicheskoye is the first oil deposit where oil was found in a so-called catagenetic screened trap. According to traditional geological estimations there should be no oil in the well.
Aide to Belorusneft Director General for Geological Affairs, Doctor of Geology and Mineralogy Sciences Valery Beskopylny made an assumption that there should be oil there. The discovery of the high-gravity oil may lead to the revision of the oil-bearing capacity of several territories of the Pripyat depression, which used to be considered unpromising.
The drilling at well No 1 Pribortovaya was started on July 31, 2007. The drilling took place in the flood plain of the river Berezina, some 70 metres away from the water surface. The well has a double foundation, drainage and is reinforced in case of floods. Taking into account ecological considerations all the drilling returns were transported to an underground storage facility 50 km away from the site.
