Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed a bill deregulating the license issue in the oil and gas production sphere.
According to a posting on the website of the Verkhovna Rada, the signed document was returned to the parliament on March 29.
The law permits the use of the servitude tool for the construction of oil and gas production facilities and pipelines (without changing the purpose of land use).
In addition, the need to obtain a patented mining claim is eliminated. Oil and gas production facilities are removed from the list of facilities of town-planning activity. The obligatory introduction of deposits to research, industrial and commercial development is canceled by the decision of the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry.
The document gives the right to oil and gas producers after the completion of the period of research and industrial development of deposits to use land parcels on the basis of an agreement with the owner of the land parcels until the purpose of land use is changed and documents for the right to use land are registered (now companies are obliged to stop production for the period of processing documents).
The removal and transfer of soil for further drilling can be carried out without special permission on the basis of a detailed land management project.
The law grants deposit users the right to use their geological information without agreeing them with authorities. In addition, it is proposed to expand the range of entities that can conduct a geological and economic assessment of oil and gas reserves (now this right is owned exclusively by the State Commission of Ukraine for Mineral Reserves).
As reported, the Verkhovna Rada adopted on March 1 at the second reading and in general bill No. 3096-d, which deregulates the license issue in the oil and gas production sphere.
NGO “Odesa Natives Together” invites foreign ambassadors, in particular those from the G7 countries, to Odesa in the hope of attracting more foreign tourists to the city in future. “We plan that foreign tourists, whom, unfortunately, there are not so many in Odesa, [will come] … I would like people from Europe, Canada, the United States to come here,” Head of NGO “Odesa Natives Together” Illia Luponosov said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.
“A good and fast way to help the city is to attract tourists, show our city, invite people,” he added.
According to the head of the organization, activists, actors, the “living statues” of Potemkin and Duke de Richelieu with theatrical performances on March 30 visit the embassies of foreign countries in Kyiv and invite ambassadors to visit Odesa.
Luponosov noted that representatives of the public organization also state “they guarantee security and good rest” in the city.
He added that invitations will be given in the diplomatic missions of the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States), as well as Bulgaria and Belgium.
OKKO Group in coming months will start supplying electricity to Ukrainian consumers, the company’s press service has reported. OKKO Contract received the respective license on March 23.
“We continue developing towards an integrated energy service company, in which clients will be able to acquire all the required energy from one source – petroleum products, natural gas and electricity,”, Head of the sales department for new OKKO products Volodymyr Ostaschuk said. The holding said that, in addition to electricity supplies, they are also going to be engaged in its electricity generation from renewable sources.
“By the end of 2018, solar panels and generating equipment with a total capacity of 200 kW will be installed on the roof and facade of the central office of the holding in Lviv,” OKKO said.
Galnaftogaz Concern manages one of the largest fuel station networks in Ukraine. It includes about 440 fuel filling stations, the majority under the OKKO brand. The majority shareholder of the company is Vitaliy Antonov, among the minority shareholders is the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Kyivstar mobile operator plans to launch 4G communications in the 2600 MHz range by April 10 of this year, company president Peter Chernyshov has said.
“Friends, you know that Kyivstar is a law-abiding company. We are waiting for all the necessary permits and conducting additional network settings in connection with the new requirements of controlling state bodies. All is made in order to launch high-quality 4G from Kyivstar. It is important for us that our subscribers get a positive experience of using the service. Quickly does not always mean qualitatively. We plan to launch 4G by April 10,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
As reported, Vodafone Ukraine mobile operator plans from March 30 to April 2 to launch 4G communications in the 2600 MHz band in 20 cities of Ukraine.
Budecoservice LLC (Kyiv), the owner of the New Way shopping center located at 1, Verbytskoho Street in Kyiv plans to build a new shopping mall in the Troyeschyna district on the site where the Sirius shopping center at 21, Draisera Street is located now before the third quarter of 2019. An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported that the project of the New Ray shopping center is presented at the Retail&Development Business Expo 2018 held in Kyiv on March 29 through March 30.
According to the project gross building area (GBA) will be 41,500 square meters, and gross lettable area (GLA) will be 34,500 square meters. The center will have five levels, including a cinema with six screens, an entertainment zone and a supermarket. The company told Interfax-Ukraine that soon the reconstruction of the building of the Sirius shopping center will start.
The new shopping center will have a parking area for 500 cars. The company is holding talks with potential leasers of the New Ray center.
The surplus of Ukraine’s balance of payment in February 2018 reached $252 million, while a deficit of $449 million was seen a month ago, according to preliminary data published on the official website of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
In January-February 2018, the deficit of the balance of payment totaled $197 million, which is 13.97% less than a year ago.
The central bank said that the surplus of the current account in February fell by 92.4% compared with January, to $9 million. In January-February 2018, the surplus of the current account was $128 million, which is 15.79% less than a year ago.
The NBU pointed out deterioration in the export performance of a number of commodity groups, despite the maintenance of a favorable price environment for ferrous metals, ores and grains.
According to the central bank, the corresponding pace was due to a slowdown in the growth of production volumes in certain industries and the complication of transportation due to unfavorable weather conditions.
In turn, imports continued to grow, mainly thanks to energy and chemical products.
Revenue sent to the financial account in February amounted to $243 million compared with $568 million outflow a month earlier. According to the NBU, the inflow of funds is linked to the stepping up of purchase of hryvnia-pegged government domestic loan securities by nonresidents.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in February totaled $111 million fully sent to the real economic sector to increase share capital.
Outflow on the financial account in January-February 2018 was $325 million, which is 15.8% less than a year ago, and net FDI inflow was $191 million (32.5% down year-over-year).
