JKX Oil&Gas Plc with assets in Ukraine and Russia has received notification of the award of the international arbitration tribunal in the dispute with Ukraine initiated by the company seeking to have damage from the increase of royalties refunded.

"The company is studying the award in detail and will be making a further announcement to shareholders shortly," JKX said in a report on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

In the interim the company notes that the tribunal found that the government of Ukraine was in breach of elements of the bilateral investment treaty between the government of the United Kingdom and the government of Ukraine and has awarded JKX damages of approximately $12 million.

As reported, early 2015 JKX Oil & Gas Plc and its wholly owned Ukrainian and Dutch subsidiaries commenced arbitration proceedings against Ukraine under the Energy Charter Treaty, the bilateral investment treaty between the United Kingdom and Ukraine and the bilateral investment treaty between the Netherlands and Ukraine.

JKX is seeking repayment of more than $180 million in rental fees that its Ukrainian subsidiary has paid on production of oil and gas in Ukraine since 2011 due to the increase of gas royalties from 28% to 55% and extension of the increase to 2015.

The largest shareholders of the company are Eclairs Group of Ihor Kolomoisky and Hennadiy Boholiubov with 27.54% of the shares, Glengary Overseas Limited of Oleksandr Zhukov with 11.45%. In addition, Russia's Proxima Capital Group owns 19.92% in JKX.