Ukraine yesterday signed a deal worth up to $10bn with Chevron to exploit its shale gas reserves as it steps up efforts to break free from its reliance on Russian gas, write Mark Rachkevych in Kiev and Neil Buckley in London.
In what is Ukraine’s second such deal this year, Chevron will gain the rights to explore and produce hydrocarbons in two western Ukrainian regions. They hold an estimated 2.98tn cubic metres of gas reserves, making them among the largest in Europe.
Viktor Yanukovich, Ukraine’s president, said the Chevron agreement, on top of a similar one with Royal Dutch Shell in January, “will allow us by 2020 to become self-sufficient in gas, and, under an optimistic scenario, to become an exporter”.