Cadogan Petroleum fails to obtain production licence for the Zagoryanske field

Operational update

Cadogan Petroleum plc announces that its application to obtain a 20 year production licence for the Zagoryanske field has not been approved by the local authority of the Poltava Regional Council. The licence application was not approved due to the ongoing disagreement between the state and local authorities  on the distribution of royalties. The Poltava Regional Council has not approved a licence application since January 2016.  

This rejection, which follows an earlier request of resubmission due to legislative change in the award process, comes three years after the original filing. Since then, the original documents submitted have become invalid and cannot be resubmitted due to the Company no longer being the licence holder. Furthermore, after three years the Company looses its right to apply for the licence.

Cadogan has reviewed the available options and decided it is not in the Company’s interest to challenge this rejection or re-submit the same application again. The Company retains the option of submitting a new application in the future and/or of participating in an auction. Cadogan also maintains the ownership of the wells, which could be rented to a new licence owner, if the licences are awarded in the interim.

Guido Michelotti, CEO, commented:

“We wrote down the value of the asset in 2013 and this news has no impact on the Company’s balance sheet. Though the news is frustrating, our focus remains on delivering value from the Company’s producing licences and other reserves potential in Ukraine, while also continuing with our wider strategy to reload the asset portfolio across different geographies”