Vanco court action suspended

The court case between Vanсo International Ltd and the Ukraine government has been suspended with arbitration underway in Stokholm for the next three months and the process of negotiation now underway. In October 2007 the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, led by Viktor Yanukovich and Vanco International (Bermuda Islands), signed an agreement according to which Vanco Prykerchenska (Virgin Islands) was given the rights to exploit oil and gas deposits in an area of 13 thousand sq km on the Prykerchenska shelf.

When extraction starts a percentage of resources recovered by the company is to be given to the Ukraine government. This project includes three prospective areas and the total sum of investment is planned to exceed US$15 bn. During Yulia Timoshenko’s Prime Ministership, the terms of this contract were breached. Timoshenko sued Vanko Prykerchenska, which she says acquired the rights to its section of the shelf illegally.

The new Ukrainian authority plans to sign an amicable agreement with the foreign company. “Our position is to get guarantees that during the period of development our company can be assured against interference and blocking of our activity, as occurred under the administration of the previous Cabinet of Ministers,” said the president of Vanko Prykerchenska Jim Bown.