International talks with investors and negotiating skills required to clinch effective production sharing agreements in the extractive sector were the points addressed during a seminar organised by DiXi Group jointly with ISLP.

The online training held on 13 and 15 May was attended by members of the Interagency Commission for Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs), representatives of the Energy Ministry, parliamentary committees concerned, the State Service of Ukraine for Geology and Subsoil, and others.

The seminar was organised jointly with ISLP, an international legal project, to enhance the potential of the Interagency Commission for PSAs (IAC).

In 2019, the government of Ukraine announced tenders for a number of hydrocarbon production sites. The Interagency Commission for Production Sharing Agreements was established to represent the government at all stages of PSA procedures. Members of the commission included representatives of government institutions and organisations and members of the Ukrainian parliament.

IAC representatives lack experience in negotiating, concluding, performing and monitoring PSAs. Therefore, in order to prevent the risk of concluding agreements on unfavourable terms for Ukraine, the Interagency Commission needs to enhance its capability to enter into effective and fair PSAs with investors.

During the two-day seminar, ISLP specialists devoted a lot of attention to developing the abilities and skills of using certain instruments and approaches in order to improve the understanding of PSA negotiation, conclusion, performance and monitoring procedures. The attendees – representatives of the parliament and the ministry concerned – were able to increase their awareness of efficient negotiation strategies.

DiXi Group has already provided assistance to the Interagency Commission when reviewing applications for PSA tenders. Recently, DiXi Group Research Director Roman Nitsovych and Manager for Sustainable Development Olha Polunina were engaged as external experts assisting IAC members from the Verkhovna Rada and the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection. They provided their comments to bidder applications and presented company integrity assessments made by DiXi Group experts. Earlier, DiXi Group President Olena Pavlenko was invited by IAC as an external expert to evaluate applications for PSA tenders, thus contributing to transparent and impartial selection of the best offers.

The training seminar for the Interagency Commission for PSAs was held within the framework of USAID’s Energy Sector Transparency Project implemented by DiXi Group and with the support from ISLP (International Senior Lawyers Project).

Source: DiXi Group