Court of Appeals overturns decision to invalidate Arkona's special permit - Smart Energy
The Court of Appeals has overturned the decision of the first instance court to invalidate special permit for production of hydrocarbons of Arkona Gas-Energy LLC.
"Thus, on September 29, the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeals held a hearing on the appeal of Arkona Gas-Energy, which is part of Smart Energy group of companies and is a Ukrainian asset of British Public Company Enwell Energy. The company appealed to the Court of Appeals to overturn the July decision of the Kyiv District Administrative Court on a lawsuit filed by PJSC Ukrnafta to invalidate Arkona's special permit for hydrocarbon production at Svystunkivsko-Chervonolutske field," according to a report on the website of Smart Energy.
"We are rooting for decision of the Sixth Court of Appeals. It is not only an opportunity for us to continue preparing for drilling the first well in a quarter of a century but also a green light for foreign investors to invest in the Ukrainian economy and a tendency to reduce investment risks here," Serhiy Hlazunov, the CEO of Smart Energy Group and Enwell Energy company, said.
"We consider such decision of the Court of Appeals to be quite legal and logical, because in the end of 2019 the Supreme Court in another case has already established that the permit was issued to Arkona in a legal way. That is, the court of the first instance in making the contested decision in this case actually reviewed decision of the Supreme Court, which violated the principle of legal certainty and binding nature of the court decision, regulated by both national and international laws. Also, the court of the first instance committed a number of procedural violations, which, given today's decision, did not go unnoticed by the Court of Appeal," Gleb Bialyi, a partner at Asters law firm, which represented Arkona in this case, said.
Enwell Energy plans to start drilling the first well at the field by the end of 2020.