Licence Update

RNS Number : 5975E

Cadogan Petroleum PLC

29 September 2008

 



September 29, 2008

CADOGAN PETROLEUM PLC

('Cadogan' or the 'Group')

LICENCE UPDATE

Cadogan today provides a further update regarding its Pirkovskoe and Zagoryanska special permits (“licences”).

 

On September 29, 2008 the Kharkiv Administrative Court of Appeal (“Kharkiv Court”) granted the appeals filed by Cadogan in full and cancelled the written rulings of the  Poltava Regional Commercial Court (“Poltava Court”) of June 17, 2008, described in further detail below. The Kharkiv Court rejected in full the claim filed by Poltavanaftogazgeology (“PNG”) that the special permits which were issued to NAK Nadra Ukraine (“Nadra”) were invalid and that the earlier licences held by PNG remained valid.

 

These judgments by the Kharkiv Court (the “Judgments”) become effective and binding immediately.

 

Within one month of the final written text of the Judgments being issued the parties are allowed to appeal further against the Judgments to the High Administrative Court of Ukraine. The final written text of the Judgments are expected to be provided on October 6, 2008.

 

This follows today’s earlier announcement by Cadogan regarding a ruling by the Poltava Regional Administrative Court on September 26, 2008 which granted Cadogan's claims in full, ensuring a permanent injunction against the nullification of Cadogan’s licences subject to there being no further appeals.

 

Context to the legal proceedings and actions

 

On 17 June 2008, the Poltava Court made written rulings, following a hearing on 12 June 2008, in favour of PNG, a subsidiary of the Group’s joint venture partner Nadra, a state owned company, in relation to earlier licences held by PNG, relating to the Pirkovskoe and Zagoryanska fields. The Poltava Court rulings: (a) declared as invalid the licences re-registered to Nadra (these were subsequently re-registered to the Group); and (b) recognised as valid the earlier licences held by PNG.

 

Cadogan submitted appeals against the 17 June 2008 decisions of the Poltava Court to the Kharkiv Court and the hearings took place on 13 August 2008 (in respect of Pirkovskoe) and 20 August 2008 (in respect of Zagoryanska). The Kharkiv Court ruled in favour of the Group, allowing its application to appeal against the Poltava Court, the results of which form today’s announcement, and cancelling the earlier decisions.

Enquiries:

Cadogan Petroleum	[phone]
Mark Tolley
Peter Biddlestone
Pelham PR
James Henderson	[phone]
Alisdair Haythornthwaite	[phone]
Evgeniy Chuikov	[phone]

 

END

 

 

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