In the footsteps of Łukasiewicz- Skhidnytsia
Schodnica
Skhidnytsia is an urban-type housing estate in the Boryslav district of the Lviv Oblast. The town is part of the Carpathian oil and gas region in the western part of Ukraine. Skhidnytsia used to be the residence of a rural commune in the district of Drohobych. A new page in the history of Skhidnytsia was related to the oil industry. The estate currently has over 2,000 inhabitants.
Petrol mine. Significant deposits of crude oil and ozokerite called earth wax were discovered here in the 1870s. The industrial development of this place began in 1872 after the construction of the railway line to Boryslav. Industrialists came to Skhidnytsia, representatives of various joint-stock companies in Germany, England, USA, France and Belgium.
It was there, that the well was mechanically drilled for the first time. On this occasion a commemorative plaque in memory of the first oil workers was placed on the highest peak (now the edge of the "Schodnickie Karpaty" sanatorium) in 1990.
In 1898 over 168,000 tons of crude oil were produced from 373 wells. At the end of the 19th century Skhidnytsia was ranked first in the production of crude oil in Galicia. In the 1930s it held the third place following Boryslav and Bytkow.
In the years 1886-1935 215 million tons of crude oil were produced in Skhidnytsia. At the end of the 19th century about 400 wells were in use in this place. In 1904 about 9,000 people worked in the mining areas. These included Boryslav, Skhidnytsia, Tustanowice, Słoboda Rungurska, Horlytsia and Czerwone. The oil well was closed in 1968. It served as a shallow excavation at 20 meters until 1895.
Trivia
There are springs of “Naftusya” mineral water in Skhidnytsia. You can also see active mining equipment as well as healing mineral water springs. The spa infrastructure has been preserved.
