Founded in 1951. Known under its present name since 1963.
The main study areas of the Institute are:
- theory of oil and gas formation; studying patterns in the formation and location of oil&gas deposits and methane-coal fields;
- geological and geochemical paleoceanography of ancient continental margins and their useful minerals;
- the development of scientific fundamentals of energy-efficient geotechnologies for processing substandard deposits of combustible minerals;
- geology and geoecology of the Carpathian region.
Major research achievements оf the Institute:
- In the framework of the latest geological concepts and studies of patterns in formation and location of oil and gas fields, a new concept of oil and gas formation in the Earth crust was developed; according to it, natural oil and gas represent a product of the interaction of mantle hydrogen-carbon-hydrocarbon gases and light oils (condensates) with organic matter of sedimentary rocks.
- A new global geological&paleooceanographic concept ‘Upwelling geology of ancient continental margins in the context of oil genesis’ has been initiated and developed.
- Relying on the results of studying lithological and geochemical peculiarities of Phanerozoic evaporates of Eurasia, the detailed reconstruction of chemical composition of paleoocean water was done, which allows a forecast of two time intervals (Jurassic-Paleogene and Cambrian-Devonian) favorable for accumulation of organic matter, bituminous and oil- and-gas bearing deposits and of a complex of minerals, primarily hydrocarbons, directly related to evaporates.
- The model of gas accumulations formation in the northern fore-Black Sea water drive basin has been validated.
- According to the data of precision studies of inclusions in minerals, minerals parageneses and typomorphic characteristics of minerals, typical features of the fluid regime of minerals formation processes were reconstructed and new data were obtained on deep-seated paleofluids migration and their effect on the formation of characteristic vertical and lateral zonality (with the elements of temporal evolution) in sedimentary successions containing hydrocarbon accumulations.
- Methodological principles of studying petrophysical properties of oil and gas reservoir rocks, related to reef-biogenic paleostructures, were formulated and reference geological&petrophysical models of siliceous-carbonate hydrocarbons reservoir-rocks for Dnieper-Donetsk Depression were constructed.
- The Institute is the main co-executor of the ‘State program of associated methane-gas recovery from Donbas coal fields (1998-2010)’, which is a component of the ‘National energy program of Ukraine to 2010’.