The State Service on Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine has suspended the license of British oil and gas company Enwell Energy plc (Smart-Holding Group) for Vasyschyvske (VAS, Kharkiv region) and Svystunkivsko-Chervonolutske (SC, Poltava region) gas condensate fields.
The decision was made in connection with the imposition of sanctions against former MP Vadym Novynskyi.
Source. This was reported by Interfax-Ukraine.
"Enwell Energy is suspending field work under the VAS license, including stopping production at the field, which currently accounts for approximately 12% of the group's production. Field work at the SC license area has already been and will continue to be suspended. The company continues to consult with its legal advisors, including on the above issues, to protect its assets," Enwell said in a statement on Thursday.
Earlier, the State Service on Geology and Mineral Resources suspended the license for the Ostroverkhivske gas condensate field (Kharkiv region) of Ukrgazvydobutok, which is also part of Smart-Holding, for the same reason.
As reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree enacting the National Security and Defense Council's decision to impose sanctions on Novynskyi.
The sanctions package includes 12 types of restrictions, including a complete blocking of assets, a ban on trading operations, deprivation of all state awards and honors, and a ban on the withdrawal of capital from Ukraine.
At the beginning of January 2023, Enwell Energy did not rule out the loss of its hydrocarbon production licenses in Ukraine due to the imposition of sanctions against Novinsky and the adoption of new legislation in the country that allows for such a possibility.
In mid-January 2023, Smart Holding announced a change of ownership. "As part of the restructuring, the founder of Smart Holding, Vadym Novynskyi, decided to transfer the assets to a trust. The relevant Smart Trust and Step Trust agreements were concluded in November 2022 and registered by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission," the holding's website said.
On April 10 this year, the Security Service of Ukraine conducted a search at Enwell Energy's office in Yakhnyky (Poltava region), during which a number of documents were seized. The search took place in connection with a pre-trial investigation into the criminal case on the circumstances of the reorganization of Smart Holding, which had previously announced the change of ownership, which until recently was Vadym Novynskyi.
Background. The day before, it became known that by order of the Ministry of Justice, ex-MP Novinsky was returned as a beneficiary to a number of companies, which will allow Novinsky to lose access to these assets.