VILNIUS - Minijos Nafta, Lithuania's biggest oil producer, has made the country's first new oil discovery in 12 years. The finding occurred near the town of Sveksna in the western district of Silute, and it is believed the deposit contains approximately 110,000 cubic meters of oil.
"This discovery is not only important because it increased the country's oil resources," said Igoris Sestokas, head of Minijos Nafta's exploration unit. "The drilling has also confirmed the company specialists' conclusions that the so-called Gargzdai fault line does not exist," he said, adding the fault's existence has not been questioned for 40 years.
With oil prices creeping toward $60 per barrel, upstream activity becomes increasingly viable and is therefore set to increase throughout the Baltic region.
The latest discovery made by Minijos Nafta, a Lithuanian-Danish joint venture, was significant for assessing oil resources and geological formations in Lithuania. The company was also the first in Lithuania to apply a state-of-the-art exploration technology, which it claims was instrumental in locating the new deposit.
The company said it planned to continue drilling.
Country-wide crude output reached 236,200 tons in the first nine months of the year, a decline of 20 percent year-on-year. Minijos Nafta produced 121,200 tons of crude over the period, a decline of 29.4 percent year-on-year.
Genciu Nafta, a Lithuanian-Swedish joint venture, posted a 20.6 percent decline in output to 35,600 tons, while Manifoldas, the youngest oil production company, reported a 16.8 percent drop to 11,600 tons. Geonafta, the oil company managed by Polish investors, was the only producer to raise output - by 5.4 percent - to 67,800 tons.
The four companies currently operate a total of 36 wells in 10 oil fields. Scientists estimate that the Baltic country's total onshore extractable oil resources amount to approximately 60 million cubic meters, while offshore resources are put at some 70 million cubic meters.
Oil producers have repeatedly voiced concerns over the exhaustion of oil wells in Lithuania and urged the authorities to license the search for new oil fields.
