They want to allow the sale of special permits for the use of subsoil - the draft of the Subsoil Codex

At the meeting of the working group on the development of the concept of the new Subsoil Codex, which was held at the Ministry of Energy and Ecology and Environment Protection of Ukraine on January 23, it was decided that all secondary geological information should be free and available online, and special permits for the use of subsoil will be allowed to be sold in whole or in part. This was reported by the Ukrainian Geological Survey press service.

According to the report, the meeting was attended by specialists of the Ukrainian Geological Survey and representatives of specialized associations, including the Association of Gas Extraction Companies, the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, the American Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Extractive Industry.

Specialists in the development of the concept of the new Codex decided that the permission to use the subsoil must be issued based on the results of transparent electronic auctions. And obtaining a permit at the competition will be possible when concluding agreements on the distribution of products, it was noted in the message.

The press service also noted that in order to develop the subsoil use market, the new Code plans to define a special permit - an object of civil rights that can be purchased or sold in whole or in part, pledged and financed, as this practice is successfully used in many countries with a developed mining industry.

The working group proposed to provide for a five-year term of validity of the license for geological exploration of the subsoil, with the possibility of extension for another five years (no more than ten years in total).It is proposed to set the term of the mining license up to 25 years, and for the development of the shelf of the Black and Azov Seas - up to 40 years.

In addition, the message states that members of the working group agreed on the need to digitize all secondary geological information and provide free online access to it. And primary geological information should be reevaluated in the direction of decreasing its value.

As previously reported, The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, instructed the Ministry of Energy and Environment Protection of Ukraine to complete the preparation of the updated Subsoil Codex within six months.