OREANDA-NEWS. June 15, 2011. DTEK has founded DTEK Oil and Gas LLC, a subsidiary responsible for development of offshore and onshore oil and gas projects.
 
Entering the oil and gas business in a perspective will enable the vertically integrated energy holding to diversify its fuel basis and satisfy the fuel demand of gas-fired units of DTEK's thermal power plants and the associated companies. As currently the fuel demand amounts to 3 billion cubic meters of gas per year, fulfillment of DTEK Oil&Gas tasks will reduce the burden on the fuel balance of Ukraine and reinforce energy independence of the Ukrainian economy.
 
Development of nonconventional gas – coal bed methane, shale stratum and tight sandstone gas – will be one of the business lines of the new company. The Company has been implementing pilot projects in this field since 2007. Currently, methane is being utilized at Stepnaya Mine (part of DTEK Pavlogradugol) and DTEK Komsomolets Donbassa. In the near future, the Company is planing to launch similar projects at other mines of DTEK Pavlogradugol and DTEK Dobropolyeugol.
 
Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK, says: ‘For Ukraine, domestic gas production is not only an issue of energy independence, but also a precondition for economic growth, welfare gain for our people and a possibility for the country to become one of European leaders. We, being one of the largest national investors in the power sector, are ready to contribute our managerial experience, financial resources, and international contacts for the development of the oil and gas industry. I am confident that Ukraine can fully satisfy its demand for hydrocarbons for the next 20 years’.