Ukrgazvydobuvannya (UGV) has launched two more high-yield wells with a flow rate of 270,000 cubic meters and 120,000 cubic meters of gas per day, the press service of Naftogaz Group said Tuesday. According to it, the wells are 6,200 meters and 6,225 meters deep, drilled in the same field, in the same reservoir and almost simultaneously, so they are called “twins” in technical slang.
Thanks to the use of modern drilling machines, the skill of Ukrburgaz specialists and the reduction of accidents during the work, the wells were drilled in 8 months, whereas previously it took 2-3 years.
“New seismic and drilling data allowed our specialists to create a high-quality 3D model, which is one of the best in “Ukrgasvydobuvannya” and allows us to effectively plan the directions of further development of this field. The works on the field continue, and drilling of the next appraisal and production well will be completed soon”, – Oleg Tolmachev, Head of UGV, noted.
In total, since the beginning of 2024, UGV has already put into operation seven new high-yield wells, including twin wells.
As reported, UGV launched 86 new wells during 2023, of which 24 – with an initial flow rate of more than 100 thousand cubic meters.
In 2022, UGV produced 12.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas (marketable), which is 3% less than in 2021. At the end of 2023, the company’s marketable gas production amounted to 13.224 billion cubic meters, which is 0.679 billion cubic meters more than in 2022. The target for 2024 is 13.75 billion cubic meters.
Naftohaz Ukrainy owns 100% of Ukrhazvydobuvannya.
A group of banks and investment companies that hold securities trading licenses have notified the regulator, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), of their readiness to create a new stock exchange amid the threat of withdrawal from the market of two of the three existing exchanges, the PFTS and the Ukrainian Exchange (UX).
According to a copy of the letter sent last week to the head of the NSSMC, available to the agency, the signatories include, in particular, the Univer Investment Group, Dominant Trade, Daliz Finance, AMC Vsesvit, Altbank, Dzherelo, BTS Broker, AMC Ozon, AMC OTP Capital, Reisen Ukraine, and Profi-T Asset.
It is noted that among the main tasks of the new trade organizer are modern technological solutions for the work of online brokers, in particular, for online trading and investing through Diya-OVGZ, the development of the derivatives market, repos and swaps, and liquidity support.
“Under the current conditions, the new exchange will be able to take advantage of, among other things, experienced professionals and modern trading technologies,” the letter states, although, according to Interfax-Ukraine, there are no formalized agreements with the PFTS and UX, which are trying to stay on the market, in this regard.
It is specified that the process of creating a new exchange will take place in several stages, the first of which is to form the team of the future exchange and obtain a license, while the second will involve some private banks – Universal Bank (mono), Globus and others.
It is assumed that at the third stage, the capital of the new exchange may include state-owned banks, such as PrivatBank, Oschadbank, and Sense, which are interested in creating a high-tech trading organizer, followed by international financial organizations and foreign commercial entities.
The authors of the letter ask the NSSMC to support this initiative.
As reported, in late March, the NSSMC warned market participants that two of the three Ukrainian stock exchanges – PFTS (Kyiv) and UX – were at risk of losing their licenses due to violations of license conditions and suggested considering possible solutions, including the creation of a new exchange and voluntary surrender of exchange licenses.
“We have called the market to ensure that the participants most interested in the existence of this infrastructure understand the consequences for themselves, as many products are built on it. If the participants are satisfied that only one exchange will remain on the market (Perspectiva – IF-U), if they do not need competition among exchanges, the regulator will agree with this. If not, if they lack one exchange, if they want to hedge risks by creating another exchange, then make two, three, five – as many as necessary,” Yaroslav Shlyakhov, a member of the NSSMC, said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine in April.
According to the NSSMC, the volume of trading in financial instruments on Ukrainian stock exchanges increased 2.7 times in 2023 to UAH 436.43 billion, of which 93% was accounted for by domestic government bonds. The share of PFS in the total trading volume was 62.9%, Perspectyva – 33.7%, and UX – 3.4%, but UX is the leader in terms of the number of transactions and instruments.
According to the Commission, in the unorganized market in 2023, the trading volume doubled to UAH 925.11 billion.
The PFTS Stock Exchange was founded in 1997. For a long time, PFTS was the market leader, but dissatisfied with the quality of its work, leading traders, together with the RTS, created the UX in 2008, which started operating in the spring of 2009 and was the first to launch “Internet trading.”
The Perspectiva Stock Exchange (Dnipro) received its license in March 2008, and before that it had been operating as a trade information system of the same name for almost two years.
Astarta Agro Holding plans to pay dividends for 2023 in the amount of EUR0.5 per share for a total of EUR12.5 million, which is in line with the previous year.
As stated in the company’s announcement on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the relevant draft decision has been included in the agenda of the shareholders’ meeting to be held in Nicosia (Cyprus) on June 4 this year.
Other issues include: adoption of a new remuneration policy; confirmation of PriceWaterhouseCoopers as auditor for 2023; and instructing the board of directors to elect an auditor for 2024.
As reported, Astarta first paid EUR12.155 million in dividends in June 2021 based on the results of 2020 in the same amount as proposed now – EUR0.5 per share. In the military year of 2022, the company refused to pay them, and then paid them in 2023.
In 2023, Astarta, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine, reduced its net profit by 5.0% to EUR61.9 million, and its EBITDA decreased by 6.1% to EUR145.77 million, while revenue increased by 21.3% to EUR618.93 million.
Astarta CEO Viktor Ivanchik’s family currently owns about 40.66% of the company. Fairfax Financial Holdings is also a major shareholder with 29.91%, and another 2.62% of shares belong to the company itself and were previously bought back as part of a buyback.
Astarta’s shares are currently quoted at PLN26.6 per share (about EUR6.23 per share), while about a year ago, when the dividend decision was approved, the rate was PLN32.80 per share (about EUR7.28 per share).
In 2024, the Karpaty Research and Mechanical Plant (Lviv region) will produce 300 grain carriers at the request of the USAID Economic Support for Ukraine project, which will account for 45% of the company’s annual workload, the donor organization’s press service reported on Facebook.
The USAID reminded that in 2023, at their request, the plant manufactured 50 such cars for one of the largest grain market operators in Ukraine, JV Nibulon LLC (Mykolaiv). In 2024, the Project ordered 300 railcars for other companies involved in the export of agricultural products.
According to the report, OMZ Karpaty produces three railcars per day weighing 23.5 tons. The main component of the car body is rolled metal of European origin purchased from Ukrainian suppliers. The rest of the components, such as the railcar axle, solid-rolled wheel, side frame, beam, shock and traction device, brake equipment and other parts, are made in Ukraine.
“During a full-scale war, orders for grain cars account for 75% of what we do. Thanks to the USAID project, we received an order last year and fulfilled it on time: we manufactured 50 railcars. This means that 650 of our employees had jobs, received salaries, and we, as a business, paid taxes to the budgets of various levels on time. This is one example of how international assistance works for the Ukrainian economy,” said Oleksandra Bodor, Marketing Director of OMZ Karpaty.
According to him, the plant currently has a portfolio of orders through August 2024. In addition to grain carriers, another promising area is the production of cement carriers needed to restore Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and housing stock.
“In 2023, all (three) railcar manufacturing plants in Ukraine produced 1967 railcars. OMZ Karpaty became the leader: the company produced 567 railcars for the Ukrainian market, which is 5% more than in 2022. Today, the company employs more than 650 people,” the donor organization said.
As reported, the USAID project is implementing the Agricultural Resilience and Livelihoods Program (AGRI-Ukraine), with a budget of $350 million. Within the framework of the AGRI-Ukraine initiative, the USAID project cooperates with public and private enterprises to attract investment in grain transportation and transshipment.
Short-term rains, sometimes thunderstorms are expected in the southeastern part of Ukraine on Wednesday, May 15, while the rest of the country will be without precipitation, the Ukrainian Weather Center reports.
The wind is mostly northeast, 5-10 m/s. The temperature at night will be 4-9°, in the western and northern regions 1-6° Celsius, on the soil surface frosts of 0-5°; during the day 11-16° Celsius, in Transcarpathia 17-21°.
In Kyiv on Wednesday, May 15, no precipitation. Northeast wind, 5-10 m / s. The temperature at night will be 4-6° Celsius, during the day about 15°.
According to the Borys Sreznevsky Central Geophysical Observatory, since the beginning of meteorological observations on May 15, the highest daytime temperature in Kyiv was 30.2° Celsius in 1925, and the lowest nighttime temperature was 0.1° below zero in 1927.
On Thursday, May 16, there will be no precipitation at night, only in the southeastern part, and light short-term rains are expected throughout Ukraine, except for most western regions.
Northeast wind with a shift to southeast, 5-10 m/s. The temperature at night will be 1-6° Celsius, on the soil surface frosts of 0-5°, in the south and Transcarpathia 3-8° Celsius; during the day 12-17° Celsius. In the highlands of the Carpathians, at night 0-5° below zero, during the day 8-13° above zero.
In Kyiv on Thursday, May 16, no precipitation at night, light short-term rain during the day. Northeast wind with a shift to southeast, 5-10 m/s. The temperature at night will be 4-6° C, during the day 15-17°.
In May, JSC OTP BANK introduces a new service – the sale of domestic government bonds in the OTP Bank UA application from the Bank’s own portfolio. Thus, the purchase of domestic government bonds will be available at any time, regardless of the date of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine’s auctions.
According to Valeria Ovcharuk, OTP Bank product owner, the new service will give customers more opportunities to choose the optimal bond rate and maturity. “Last fall, OTP Bank provided its customers with the opportunity to buy domestic government bonds directly at auctions of the Ministry of Finance through the OTP Bank UA application. To offer even more opportunities for investing in government securities, we have developed a functionality that will allow individuals to buy government bonds from the Bank’s portfolio online. We conducted an internal study within the Bank, analyzed requests from our customers regarding the desired maturity and currency for investments, and based on this, we formed a portfolio of securities for sale. This way, customers will be able to combine the optimal rate and investment period. The service is at the testing stage and will be available to users in May,” said Ms. Ovcharuk.
She emphasized that buying government bonds in OTP Bank is convenient and fast. “Just a few clicks in the application and government securities are in your bond portfolio. At the same time, you are making a profitable and reliable investment in the future, as the repayment of government bonds is 100% guaranteed by the state. At the same time, it is an opportunity to help the Ukrainian economy,” emphasized Ms. Ovcharuk.
The service will be available online to all customers who have opened a securities account at any branch of OTP Bank.
As a reminder, according to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, OTP Bank was ranked fourth among Ukrainian banks in the overall rating of primary dealers in 2023.
The status of a primary dealer provides the exclusive right to participate in the placement of domestic government bonds conducted by the Ministry of Finance, both on its own behalf and for clients of individuals and legal entities, as well as banks and financial companies that do not have such a status.
To learn more about investing in domestic government bonds through the OTP Bank UA app, please follow the link.
