Ukrnafta (UNAF UK) cut oil output by 8.3% yoy to 165 kt in November, Interfax reported Dec. 11, according to a source in Ukraine’s Energy Ministry. Total oil production fell 2.6% yoy to 1,875 kt in 11M12 vs. only a 2.0% yoy drop in 10M12. The company’s natural gas production fell 6.7% yoy to 1.85 bcm in 11M12, while gas condensate output grew 5.8% yoy to 184 kt for the period.
Roman Dmytrenko: After three consecutive months of oil output growth, which might have indicated a turnaround in the company’s multi-year production downtrend, Ukrnafta reported a disappointing 7% mom drop in its average daily oil production for November. Even though Ukrnafta still might achieve flat yoy oil output in 2012, the reported data clearly indicates that the company is still struggling to ramp up its production due to lack of new oil reserves exploration.