Enwell Energy Says Ukraine has Ordered Suspension of Two Licenses — Update

By Joe Hoppe

Enwell Energy PLC said Thursday the Ukrainian government has issued orders to suspend its Vasyschevskoye production license and Svystunivsko-Chervonolutskyi exploration license in the country.

The London-listed oil-and-gas company said the issue relates to recently implemented Ukrainian laws, giving the State Geologic and Subsoil Survey of Ukraine the power to suspend or revoke the hydrocarbon licenses of companies where the ultimate beneficial owner is subject to Ukrainian government sanctions.

The Vasyschevskoye field operations will now be ceased, including a shutdown of production. The license contributes around 12% of Enwell's total production. Field activities at Svystunivsko-Chervonolutskyi were already suspended.

Early Thursday, Enwell said the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice ordered the cancellation of a registration entry made on behalf of three of its Ukrainian subsidiaries -- LLC Prom-Enerho Produkt, LLC Arkona Gas-Energy and LLC Well Investum -- relating to their beneficial owners, and restored the previous entry in the state register, Vadym Novynskyi.

The company had said in late January that Mr. Novynskyi had ceased holding an indirect beneficial interest in Enwell. However, the restoration of the registration now puts Mr. Novynskyi as the ultimate beneficial owner of each of LLC Prom-Enerho Produkt and LLC Arkona Gas-Energy, and therefore the two licenses.

On Dec. 9, Enwell said that a regulatory action sanctioning a number of Orthodox clerics taken by Ukraine in the country had affected Mr. Novynskyi, a cleric and businessman who held a major indirect shareholding interest in the company.

The company didn't disclose the size of Mr. Novynskyi's shareholding. However, in June 2019, Enwell -- then Regal Petroleum PLC -- had said that a company entirely controlled by Mr. Novynskyi had increased its interest in its issued share capital to 82.65% from 54.0%.

Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 04, 2023 13:27 ET (17:27 GMT)

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