Chevron Appreciates Transparency of Ukraine's Tenders

KYIV, Ukraine, September 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

President of Chevron North America Harry Luckett noted that his company was glad to have participated in tenders for extraction of hydrocarbons in Ukraine. While talking to the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, in New York, he appreciated the transparency of the procedures and expressed hope that Chevron and Ukraine had great perspectives in oil and gas-industry cooperation.

Chevron won the bid for the right to develop Ukrainian shale gas field Oleske (western Ukraine) in May 2012. By the end of August 2012 the American company provided the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine with a draft agreement regarding the distribution of the extracted gas. According to the draft, within the period of three years Chevron will invest USD 350 million in gas exploration in Ukraine, said the Minister for Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, Eduard Stavytskyi, who is also in New York.

In May 2012 Royal Dutch Shell received the right to develop Ukrainian shale gas field Yuzivske, and the two sites are set to provide Ukraine with up to 10 percent of domestically consumed natural gas by 2020. In June 2012 Stavytskyi stated that Shell decided to provide the Ukrainian government with a bonus of USD 400 million - on top of a 30-percent share in the profits from the hydrocarbon production.

While in New York, President Yanukovych discussed cooperation with the president of another energy giant - ExxonMobil Exploration. The meeting with Stephen Greenlee concerned questions of Ukraine's further cooperation with Exxon. In August 2012 an Exxon-led consortium won access to oil and gas reserves at the Ukrainian deep marine shelf field Scythian under the Black Sea.

American ExxonMobil, Dutch-British Royal Dutch Shell, Romanian OMV Petrom, and Ukrainian state company Nadra will unlock the underwater deposits at the 16,698-square-kilometer Scythian field. Commercial production at the Scythian field may start in six to eight years and reach three to four billion cubic meters of gas annually, informed The Financial Times.

The group led by Exxon will invest hundreds of millions into gas production in Ukraine. The right to sign a 50-year production agreement with the Ukrainian government will cost the consortium USD 300 million, while the bid itself stipulates investment of USD 400 million during the initial phase of the exploration.

SOURCE Worldwide News Ukraine