Ukrnafta extends bid deadline for joint development of fields
MOSCOW. July 26 (Interfax) - Ukrnafta has extended the deadline for potential partners to submit bids in the selection process announced in 2023 for joint development of hydrocarbon fields until September 10, 2024.
"Considering the interest of investors, who could not participate in the first selection, and the existence of fields that have potential for the joint development, the company decided to extend the application deadline by 3 months until September 10, 2024," Ukrainian media reported, quoting a company press release.
Currently, according to the press release, the process of cooperation terms finalization with companies that have submitted the best proposals, preparation process of joint applications submission to the Interdepartmental Commission for Organization and Implementation of Production Sharing Agreements and subsequent approval by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine are underway.
In the autumn of 2023, Ukrnafta offered 21 fields for joint development and extended invitations to investment and production companies for cooperation on 10 fields in the west and 11 in the east of Ukraine. Bids were accepted until March 11, according to adjusted data.
Ukrnafta has received bids from six companies to jointly develop 15 of the 21 fields offered for investment in 2023, Denis Kudin, the company's executive vice president for corporate strategy and development, said on July 5. There were none for six fields, and for some only one bid was received while for others there were two, so an internal contest had to be held for them.
Kudin said the biggest offer of investment in a single field was $100 million, and the smallest was $7 million, the latter being for the smallest deposit.
He said the process of bringing in investor to jointly develop the fields might be complete before the end of the year.
He said that during the search for investors, Ukrnafta approached about 200 companies, and negotiated with several companies at industry conferences. More than 50 potential investors responded, and 35 companies passed compliance and were admitted to the Virtual Data Room with detailed information about deposits.
Ukrnafta is Ukraine's largest oil producer and operator of the national chain of filling stations. The company started to operate the Glusco network in March 2024 and now operates 545 filling stations in total - 460 under its own brand and 85 under management.
The company is carrying out a comprehensive program of resuming its operations and updating the format of filling stations of its chain. Since February 2023, Ukrnafta has been issuing its fuel coupons and NAFTACard cards sold to legal entities and individuals by Ukrnafta-Postach LLC.
The biggest shareholder is Naftogaz with 50% plus one share. The Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief ruled on November 5, 2022 to expropriate Ukrnafta shares owned by private shareholders - that stake is now controlled by the Defense Ministry.
