The Ukrainian government responded without enthusiasm to Vanco
Prykerchenska Ltd's proposal to conclude an out-of-court agreement,
First Vice Prime Minister Oleksandr Turchynov said.
“The Black and Azov Seas shelf must be developed under state
control,” he claimed adding that the government intends to attract
investments and invite investors. But “these should not be the
agreements in the corridors and shady schemes, it should be transparent
and clear for everybody, first of all for the citizens of our state, in
the interests of whom all this should take place,” Turchynov noted.
He underlined that foreign investors may participate in the shelf
development, however only based on open auctions, but not by means of
interesting proposals to one or another official.
Last week Vanco Prykerchenska President Jim Bown said the company
was ready to start talks with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for
out-of-court settlement of the dispute over the Production Sharing
Agreement covering the Prykerchenska area of the Black Sea.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and Vanco International (the
Bermuda Islands) signed the Prykerchenska Production Sharing Agreement
on October 19, 2007.
Vanco International then delivered all rights and commitments on the
agreement to Vanco Prykerchenska. This served as the main reason for
the Ukrainian Cabinet's withdrawal from the agreement, and the start of
proceedings initiated by Vanco Prykerchenska.
