China National Offshore Oil Corp to develop Black Sea gas deposits

At a press conference on Friday, Anatoliy Prysyazhnyuk, chair of Chernomornaftogaz, a subsidiary of Naftogaz of Ukraine, said that his company signed a memorandum with the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation to allow the Chinese side to take part in the construction of a gas pipeline toward the Odesa gas deposit, including the production and delivery of the pipes, other services and construction of the pipe. In return, after production starts at the deposit, Chernomornaftogaz will pass on a portion of the proceeds from hydrocarbon sales for five years. The memorandum must be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. Prysyazhnyuk also said his company is in talks with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which he said is ready to invest up to UAH 1 bln in Black Sea projects.