Ukraine is currently debating grain quotas and the jury is still out on the country’s new president but the energy sector is making waves.
Poland’s richest man, billionaire Jan Kulczyk, who bought into Ukraine’s natural gas production in June, has already started drilling. Kulczyk Oil Ventures launched the M-19 well at the Makiivka gas deposit in Donetsk region.
Earlier this summer, Kulczyk Oil Ventures, through its subsidiary, Loon Ukraine Holding, bought a 70% stake in of one of Ukraine’s largest private producers of natural gas, KUB-Gas, for $45 million. Kulczyk Oil Ventures, which went public in May on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (symbol: KOV); used part of the proceeds from the IPO to close deal in Ukraine.
In a press release, Tim Elliott, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Kulczyk Oil, stated. “We are pleased to be starting the drilling of our first well in Ukraine only a few months after closing our acquisition. The timely implementation of this first step in our plan to increase the production and reserves of KUB-Gas was made possible by the diligence and teamwork of the technical and operational teams of both KUB-Gas and Kulczyk Oil.”
Meanwhile, startup, UkrWindEnergo, just announced it is partnering with New Power Technologies to jointly develop, own and operate a 400 megawatt wind power park in Sovetskiy District, Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine. In August, Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych, stated he was focused on bringing such projects to Crimea.
Ukraine’s wind potential, according to The Institute of Energy, Dnepropetrovsk State University, is estimated at about 140,000 wind turbines with up to 10 kWh each in annual capacity. Currently, the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association says the total capacity of wind power plants set up in the country is 1,200 kWt.
