About

The Institute of Geology and Geochemistry of Combustible Minerals of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine holds one of the honorable positions of the Branch of Earth Sciences of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The Institute was founded in 1951 on the basis of Decree of Counsil of Ministers of the USSR No. 457 of February 21, 1951 and Decree of Counsil of Ministers of the UkrSSRNo. 561 of March 24, 1951 and Resolution of the Presidium of Academy of Sciences of the UkrSSR of March 23, 1951. The modern name the Institute has got in 1963. For the space of fifty-years history the Institute was headed by V. F. Porfiriev (1951-1963), G. N. Do-lenko (1963-1982), R. V. Kucher (1982-1986), V. Yu. Zabigailo (1986-1996), S. O. Lyzun (1997-2000), since 2003 director of the Institute is M. I. Pavlyuk. At first the Institute’s activity was directed to study of geology and useful minerals of the western regions of the Ukraine. The first open scientific discussion on problems of oil origin and migration was con-ducted on the initiative of V. B. Porfiriev in the city of Lviv where the Lviv school of geolo-gists-oil-men has advanced arguments for deep inorganic origin of oil and gas. This scientific hypothesis was taken as a basis of the basic researches of the Institute in the following years. During the same years special attention was paid to study of stratigraphy, tectonics, volcanism of the Ukrainian Carpathians, Precarpathian and Transcarpathian deeps, the Volyn-Podolian plate. Till middle 50-ies a new scientific direction was founded at the Institute: geochemical investigation of mineral-forming fluids. The intensive development of oil geology and mining industry in 60-ies caused the necessity of reorganization: in 1963 the Institute of Geology of Useful Minerals was reformed into the Institute of Geology and Geochemistry of Combustible Minerals to which a mission was assigned to develop scientific bases of prospecting for oil, gas, ozokerite, coal, combusti-ble shales and sulphur throughout the whole territory of the Ukraine. The theoretical and ap-plied questions of oil-gas geology and geochemistry were developed, namely: oil and gas origin, their migration, regularities of formation and location of commercial fields of oil and gas, mechanism of formation of saline dome structures in oil- and gas-bearing provinces, na-ture and regularities of spreading of reservoir rocks of oil and gas, hydrogeology of oil and gas fields. Also a study of geology of coal fields and coal formation as well as nature and regularities of gas spreading in the coal mines, tectonics of coal basins and its influence upon distribution of coal of different rank; the questions of integrated employment of Carpathian menilite shales in national economy were developed; special attention was paid to study of geology and geochemistry of sulphur and potassium fields. The Institute has sufficient achievements in the field of stratigraphy, lithology, paleo-ceanography, tectonics, oil and gas potential of the Carpathian region, the Dnieper-Donets depression, the Donets and Lviv-Volyn coal-basins. Theoretical and applied questions of oil and gas geology, geochemistry and technology are developing. Geology of methane-coal fields is studying with the purpose of possible using of associated gas-methane. Menilite shales, sulphur and potassium salts, geochemistry of sedimentary series of oil- and gas-bearing and coal-bearing provinces are studying, the questions of tectonics, stratigraphy, pa-leoceanography and sedimentology of provinces of combustible minerals are developing. The names of many well-known scientists-founders of scientific directions are con-nected with the Institute: Academicians V. Sobolev, V. Selsky, O. Vyalov, E. Lazarenko, V. Porfiriev, S. Subbotin, L. Tkachuk, G. Dolenko, R. Kucher, V. Zabigailo, M. Pavlyuk, the corresponding members M. Ladyzhensky, Ya. Sereda, V. Kityk, Yu. Senkovsky, professors E. Chekalyuk, Yo. Grinberg, V. Kalyuzhnyi, O. Petrychenko, V. Kolodiy and other who made a great contribution to the world geological science. The Institute includes 8 scientific departments, in which 88 research workers are working, among them 1 Academician of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (M. Pavlyuk), 7 Doctors of Science and 41 Candidates of Science. The Institute is the publisher of the journal “Geology and Geochemistry of Combustible Minerals”. A specialized council for the defence of the doctor’s and candidate’s disserta-tion is working at the Institute for three specialities. The employees of the Institute defended 36 doctor’s and 168 candidate’s dissertations, published about 355 monographs, about 30 maps of Ukraine and Europe, received more than 90 author's certificates and patents of Ukraine. MAIN SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE INSTITUTE The following most ponderable achievements of the Institute during the last five years should be mentioned:

In the view of the newest geological conceptions and investigation of the regularities of formation and location of oil and gas fields the new conception of oil and gas formation in the Earth crust is developed, according to which the natural oil and gas represent a product of interaction of the mantle hydrogen-carbon-hydrocarbon gases and light oils (condensates) and organic matter of sedimentary rocks.
Under the direction of Corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Y. Senkovsky the new global geological-paleooceanographic conception “Upwelling geology of ancient continental margins in context of oil genesis problem” has been initiated and is being developed.
According to the results of investigation of lithological-geochemi-cal peculiarities of Phanerozoic evaporates of Eurasia the detailed reconstruction of chemical composition of paleoocean water is performed, which allows forecasting of two time intervals (Jurassic-Paleogene and Cambrian-Devonian) favorable for accumulation of organic matter, bituminous and oil and gas bearing deposits and complex of minerals, first of all hydrocarbons, directly related to evaporates.
The model of gas accumulations formation in the northern fore-Black Sea water drive basin is substantiated.
According to the data of precision investigations of inclusions in minerals, minerals parageneses and typomorphic characteristics of minerals the typical features of fluid regime of minerals formation processes are reconstructed and the new data on deep-seated paleoflu-ids migration and their influence on formation of characteristic”vertical and lateral zonality (with the elements of temporal evolution) in sedimentary successions containing hydrocar-bons accumulations are obtained.
Methodological principles of investigation of petrophysical properties of oil and gas reservoir rocks, related to reef-biogenic paleostructures, are formulated and reference geological-petrophysical models of siliceous-carbonate hydrocarbons reservoir-rocks for Dnieper-Donetsk Depression are constructed.
The Institute is the main co-executor of the “State program of associated gas-methane recovery from Donbas coal fields (1998-2010)”, which is a constituent of the “National energetic program of Ukraine to 2010”. On demand of Lugansk regional State administration the geological substantiation and evaluation of methane bearing of the top-priority objects of gas-methane production from Donbas coal fields is being performed.
Gas-generation potential of Donetsk and Lviv-Volyn coal basins on peat, coal and anthracite stages of coal formation on technological coal ranks is calculated.
The physical-chemical model of combined combustion of coal-bed methane and low-grade solid fuel is created.
The laboratory plant for synthetic hydrocarbons extraction from low-grade coal, peat and carbonic waste is constructed.
On the base of historical geodynamics the evolution of Carpathian-fore Black Sea margin of the East-European craton as a constituent of the northern continental margin of Tethys in Mesozoic is traced.
Natural and man-caused aspects of oil products and phenols concentrations formation in surface waters of Boryslav oil-producing region are revealed.

Scientific schools of the Institute:

geodynamics of oil and gas bearing provinces (the founder - Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine M. Pavlyuk);
geological and geochemical paleoceanography of the ancient continental margins and related minerals (the founder - Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Prof. Yu. Senkovsky);
geochemistry and thermobarometry of the mineral-laced medium fluids (founder - D. Sc., Prof. V. Kalyuzhnyi)
thermodynamics of oil and gas formation in the sedimentary cover and the earth's asthenosphere (the founder - D. Sc., Prof. Chekalyuk),
elaboration of methods of individual inclusions in sedimentary rocks minerals investigation (thermobarogeochemistry of evaporites), (the founder - D. Sc., Prof. Petrychenko).

Institute suggests for joint modification and implementation:

according to the “State program on the problems of prospecting, recovery and use of coal-bed methane” to publish the Regulation on gas-methane of coal fields of Ukraine reserves estimate;
to realize the pilot project of subsurface gasification of substandard coal seams within one of the fields of the Lviv-Volyn basin of Ukraine;
to implement the technology of biogas extraction from man-caused massifs.

THE MAIN DIRECTIONS OF SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY OF THE INSTITUTE ARE:

the theory of oil and gas formation, studying of the law-governed nature of the formation and location of deposits of oil, gas and methane-coal fields;
geological and geochemical paleoceanography of ancient continental margins;
geological and development of scientific grounds for energy-effective geotechnologies;
geochemistry, thermobarometry of fluids of mineral-forming environments.