From 1997 to 2000, we led a multi-stage project to create a legislative foundation for the PSA regime. The RULG - Ukrainian Legal Group (RULG) was retained on this project by the U.S. Department of Energy and USAID, as well as by Europe's TACIS. Over the course of four years, RULG:

• Worked with the international oil & gas industry, the U.S. government and the Ukrainian government's PSA Working Group to draft Ukraine's first PSA Law.
• Provided legal support to the Ukrainian government while the PSA Law was pending and cooperated with the Ukrainian Parliament's Legal Department in shepherding the PSA Law through to successful adoption in 1999.
• Subsequently went through the same process with the Law "On Introducing Amendments to Current Legislation of Ukraine" (the Enabling Law), in order to harmonize the provisions of the PSA Law with existing Ukrainian legislation. The Enabling Law was successfully adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament in 2000.
• After the adoption of the Enabling Law, worked with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and various Ministries on drafting implementation regulations, a number of which have already been adopted, while others are still pending.
• Has worked with the Ukrainian Parliament on the PSA Law Amendments Bill, aimed at updating the PSA Law.
• Our firm prepared a comprehensive report for the World Bank on the application of Ukraine's Production Sharing Agreements (PSA) Regime to the Use of Subsoil on Ukraine's Continental Shelf. The text of the report can be downloaded in English and Ukrainian.
• RULG attorneys submitted a report on the "Development of the Ukrainian Legislation on Production Sharing Agreements", which was presented at the largest oil & gas trade event in the U.S., the Offshore Technology Conference held on May 3-6, 2004 in Houston. The text of the report is available on this page in English.

Update on the Status of Ukraine's Production Sharing Legislation

2000-2010
A number of regulations (normative acts) were adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on PSA-related issues.  The list of PSA legislation and regulations and a brief description is available for download.

December 6, 2001
The Constitutional Court of Ukraine adopted a Resolution on the constitutionality of selected PSA Law provisions. A summary of this resolution is available for download.

June 8, 2000
The PSA Enabling Law was adopted and took effect. The English translation of the Enabling Law is available for download.

October 12, 1999
On October 6, 1999, President Kuchma signed the PSA Law. The Law took effect on October 12, 1999, the date of its publication. The English translation of the PSA Law is available for download.

It is expected that adoption of the PSA Law will put Ukraine back on the radar screen of potential investors in the oil and gas sector, since the Law creates attractive conditions for investing. It provides a solid and modern legal basis for potential PSA projects, and is, in many ways, much more favorable to investors than the Russian PSA Law. An overview analysis of the PSA Law is available in the "Publications" section of our Web site.

Although adoption of the PSA Law is a fundamental stage in establishing a PSA regime, a few more steps still need to be completed before this regime can be effective, including the adoption of the respective decrees by the Cabinet of Ministers, and normative acts by various ministries.

Please see our Publications section for our attorneys' published articles on the PSA regime.

Production Sharing Legislation Seminar in Kiev

On September 14, 1998, the RULG - Ukrainian Legal Group, P.A. conducted a one-day seminar in Kiev, under the auspices of the Energy Working Group of the United States - Ukraine Binational Commission, on how production sharing legislation may offer a promising basis for the extraction of useful minerals from Ukraine.

The goal of the seminar was to offer Ukrainian parliament members, state officials and specialists in the area of subsoil use, in particular the extraction of oil and gas, an opportunity to gain a better understanding of how production sharing works in various countries, and how it could work in Ukraine, as well as to exchange views about the appropriateness of production sharing agreements to stimulate investment in Ukraine. Below are selected seminar presentations made by our attorneys.

The Concept of Production Sharing
by Dr. Irina Paliashvili

Survey of Certain Provisions of the Draft PSA Law and Possible Amendments Thereto
by Tamara Lukanina

Survey of Applicable Legislation of Ukraine in the Area of Subsoil Use and Relevant Tax Legislation
by Vadim Dmitriev