JKX Oil&Gas with assets in Ukraine and Russia in the first quarter of 2019 reached average daily production of 9,907 boepd, which is 11.6% more than in the fourth quarter of 2018 and 13.2% more than in the first quarter of 2018.
The company reported on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday that March 2019 monthly production of 10,200 boepd, strongly supported by the IG103 side track that has averaged 1,598 boepd in Q1 2019, is the highest monthly average group production since June 2016.
In Ukraine, production grew by 35.1% in Q1 2019 compared with Q4 2018, to 5,009 boepd, including a 37.6% rise in gas production, to 709,000 cubic meters a day, and a 23.8% rise in oil and condensate production, to 837 boepd.
Average price of gas in January-March 2019 in Ukraine fell by 21.6% on Q4 2018, to $269 per 1,000 cubic meters and the price of oil – by 28%, to $59 per barrel.
JKX said that the company held $10.5 million cash at March 31, 2019, after payment of $5.3 million principal and $0.7 million interest to the convertible bondholders in February. In addition to cash we are holding oil and gas inventory of approximately $4.8 million in value.
Kyivsky cardboard paper mill (Obukhiv, Kyiv region), a leader in Ukraine’s pulp and paper industry in terms of production and sales, saw a 2% rise in production of goods in money terms in January-March 2019 year-over-year, to UAH 1.349 billion, according to the Ukrpapir association.
Corrugated packaging output fell by 2.7%, to 54.27 million square meters, retaining the second highest result among producers of corrugated packaging in Ukraine after Rubizhne cardboard packaging mill in Luhansk region (with Trypilsky packaging plant).
Production of cardboard decreased 12.5%, to 47,960 tonnes. Production of package cardboard alone fell by 3%, to 34,730 tonnes, while box cardboard output fell by almost 30%, to 13,230 tonnes.
Production of base paper (for sanitary products) stood at 20,000 tonnes, which is 9% up year-over-year. Toilet paper output rose by 4.7%, to 108.81 million rolls.
Corrugated packaging output in total in Ukraine (including other producers) fell by almost 5% in January-March 2019, to 234.17 million square meters, that of paper and cardboard decreased by 8.7%, to 213,860 tonnes and toilet paper grew by 3.7%, to 173 million rolls.
Kyivsky cardboard paper mill is one of the largest cardboard and paper producers in Europe. It employs almost 2,200 people. It sells produce to almost 700 companies in Ukraine, some CIS member states and the rest of the world.
Coal mining enterprises in Ukraine in January-March 2019 reduced run-of-mine (ROM) coal production by 7.1% (by 594,500 tonnes) compared to the same period in 2018, to 7.765 million tonnes.
According to the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry, extraction of coking coal during the reporting period decreased by 24% (by 387,400 tonnes), to 1.227 million tonnes, and steam coal fell by 3.1% (by 207,100 tonnes), to 6.537 million tonnes.
Krasnolymanske LLC, under control of Vitaliy Kropachev, continued hiding information about its operations from the ministry started in September 2018.
The ministry said that in March 2019, ROM coal production fell by 11.9% (360,400 tonnes) compared with March 2018, to 2,664 million tonnes.
Coal mining enterprises managed by the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry reduced coal production by 19.5% (by 230,900 tonnes), to 955,500 tonnes, in particular extraction of coking coal grew by 10.1%, to 165,800 tonnes, while steam coal production fell by 23.8%, to 789,700 tonnes.
Mines in Donetsk region produced 2.524 million tonnes of coal (14% less compared with January-March 2018), Luhansk region some 111,700 tonnes (23.7% less), Dnipropetrovsk region some 4.74 million tonnes (2% less), Lviv region some 374,300 tonnes (8.6% less), and Volyn region some 14,300 tonnes (52.2% less).
PJSC Ukrnafta in March 2019 increased oil and condensate production by 6.4% (7,700 tonnes) compared to March 2018, to 128,800 tonnes, the press service of the company has reported.
Natural gas production increased by 12.9% (11.4 million cubic meters), to 100.1 million cubic meters.
The average daily production, respectively, amounted to 4,200 tonnes of oil and 3.2 million cubic meters of gas.
As reported, according to the non-audited statements, in 2018 Ukrnafta received UAH 6.628 billion of net profit against UAH 101.771 million of profit for 2017.
Last year, the company increased its oil and gas condensate production by 5% compared with 2017, to 1.448 million tonnes. Gas production decreased by 2.3%, to 1.082 billion cubic meters, production of liquefied gas by 5.2%, to 110,000 tonnes.
GAS, OIL, PRODUCTION, UKRNAFTA
KSG Agro in 2019 will double the production capacity for pellets from agricultural raw materials, to 2,000 tonnes, the press service of the agroholding has reported.
“Currently, the productivity of the workshop [Dnipropetrovsk region] is 5 tonnes of fuel pellets per shift. After upgrading the production line, a capacity of 10 tonnes per shift [about 2,000 tonnes per year] will be achieved,” the company said in a press release.
According to KSG Agro, work on the modernization of the plant will be completed by the beginning of the heating season of 2019-2020.
“The raw material for pellet production is our own waste from crop production, mainly sunflower. The production volume covers the needs of biofuel boilers served by the holding,” Serhiy Kasyanov, the chairman of the board of KSG Agro, said.
KSG Agro in 2017-2018 installed nine biofuel boiler houses with a total capacity of 8.35 MW, which produce more than 1,000 Gcal of heat per heating season (160 days).
Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises in February 2019 increased steel production by 5% compared to the same period in 2018, to 1.689 million tonnes, staying on 13th place in the ranking of 64 countries, the major global manufacturers of these products, compiled by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel).
A decrease in steel production in most of the top ten countries, except for China, India, the United States and South Korea was recorded in February.
The top ten producer countries in February are as follows: China (70.988 million tonnes, an increase of 9.2%), India (8.738 million tonnes, a rise of 2.3%), Japan (7.743 million tonnes, a drop of 6.6%), the United States (6.896 million tonnes, an increase of 4.6%), South Korea (5.471 million tonnes, a rise of 1.1%), the Russian Federation (5.23 million tonnes, a fall of 4.4%), Germany (3.12 million tonnes, a decrease of 9.4%), Brazil (2.662 million tonnes, a fall of 1.7%), Turkey (2.635 million tonnes, a drop of 12.5%), and Italy (2.046 million tonnes, a fall of 2.7%).
They are followed by Iran (2.015 million tonnes, an increase of 21.7%), Taiwan (1.815 million tonnes, a rise of 22.5%), and Ukraine (1.689 million tonnes, a rise of 5%).