REUTERS
ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Ukraine B.V. (the Netherlands), that was planned to conduct hydrocarbons production on the Black Sea shelf before the annexation of Crimea by Russia, is closing its office in Ukraine in keeping with a decision taken by the company’s board of directors on August 3, the company said in an official statement, according to Holos Ukrayiny (the Voice of Ukraine), the Ukrainian parliament's daily newspaper.
It is also reported that the decision does not concern other ExxonMobil offices in Ukraine.
Except mining business, the American company has been engaged in selling motor oil in Ukraine.
As UNIAN reported earlier, in July 2015, Ukrainian representative office of Chevron corporation - Chevron's Ukraine B.V. - announced the termination of its operations in Ukraine.
In 2012, the Ukrainian government conducted three tenders for production-sharing agreements (PSA) in respect of hydrocarbons. Based on results of the tenders, a consortium of ExxonMobil, Shell, Petron and NJSC Nadra Ukrayny received rights to develop the Scythian site on the Black Sea shelf. In late January, 2013, the government announced its plans to make Ukraine a leading gas production country in the Black Sea basin in 2013. In November 2013, Ukraine’s Energy Ministry stated that the PSA signing would be another step toward Ukraine’s energy independence.
Ukraine considered Western investors as preferable for Ukraine. In the long-run the development of the Black Sea could have provided a material boost in gas production in Ukraine, leading to the decrease in the country’s reliance on Russian gas, replacing it with domestic production.