The Supreme Court will consider the lawsuit of Ukrgazvydobuvannya to the Ukrainian Geological Survey regarding Krabova Block on the shelf

JSC "Ukrgazvydobuvannya" (UGV) in 2017 appealed to the District Administrative Court of Kyiv with a claim against the Ukrainian Geology Survey (Derzhgeonadra).

In the lawsuit, the company asked the court to declare the inaction of the Ukrainian Geological Survey in failing to review and not make a decision within the prescribed period regarding the application for the granting of a special permit for the use of the subsoil of Krabova Block, located within the western part of the northwestern shelf of the Black Sea, for a period of 30 years, illegal.

The UGV also asked the court to recognize the refusal of the Ukrainian Geological Survey to grant a special permit for Krabova block as illegal. In addition, the company asked to oblige the Ukrainian Geological Survey to grant UGV a special permit for Krabova block for 30 years.

By the decision of the District Administrative Court of Kyiv dated September 19, 2019, which was left unchanged by the decision of the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal dated January 22, 2020, the lawsuit was partially satisfied. In particular, the court found the Ukrainian Geological Survey's inaction to be illegal and ordered the Ukrainian Geological Survey to re-examine the application of the UGV regarding the granting of a special permit for Krabova Block.

Derzhgeonadra disagreed with such court decisions and filed a cassation appeal. By the decision of the Supreme Court dated May 18, 2020, cassation proceedings were opened in the case. In June 2020, the UGV sent a response to the cassation appeal, and in December 2020, the UGV sent a statement on the rejection of the lawsuit. At the same time, the Supreme Court scheduled the hearing of the case for February 17, 2021.