Ukraine country profile
Ukraine gained independence after the collap of the Soviet Union in 1991 and has since veered between eking clor integration with Western Europe and reconciliation with Russia, which supplies most of the country's energy.
Europe's cond largest country, Ukraine is a land of wide, fertile agricultural plains, with large pockets of heavy industry in the east.
While Ukraine and Russia share common historical origins, the west of the country has clo ties with its European neighbours, particularly Poland, and Ukrainian nationalist ntiment is strongest there.
Pressure grows on Ukraine over rights at Euro 2012
KIEV (Reuters) - Denmark and the Netherlands incread pressure on Ukraine to improve i
ts human rights record at the Euro 2012 football finals on Saturday by meeting victims of alleged police torture in the city where opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko is jailed.
The two European Union states' sports ministers held three hours of talks on police brutality, homophobia and the need for an independent judiciary in the eastern city of Kharkiv before their nations met in a Group B match.
"Our role in the European Union is to push for change by the politicians in the country. The people I have spoken to today show that you can be randomly arrested and tortured," Dutch Health and Sports Minister Edith Schippers told Reuters.
"That is not a sign of a civil law state that wants to be part of the EU," she said by telephone after the talks.
Participants said the ministers did not discuss Tymoshenko's ca, which has prompted politicians from veral EU states to boycott matches being held in Ukraine during the mo
nth-long tournament which it is co-hosting with Poland.
But the talks put the spotlight on issues that could further damage Ukraine's image and dent President Viktor Yanukovich's hopes that hosting the finals will boost its chances of joining the 27-state EU, Europe's elite democratic club.
Government officials were not immediately available for comment but are already reeling from bad publicity over Tymoshenko's ca and allegations of racism in the build-up to the tournament gathering the pick of Europe's national teams.
Germany, France and Britain have led the boycott over the treatment of Tymoshenko, a former prime minister ntenced to ven years in prison last October for abu of office.
She is now being treated in a Kharkiv clinic for chronic back problems and says she was physically manhandled by prison guards in April, a charge which prison authorities deny.
Ukraine, Russia, Canada agree to create Ukraine's first telecom satellite in 2013
boxiUkrainian, Russian and Canadian participants of the international project on Ukraine's first national telecommunications satellite - the Lybid - have agreed a schedule of work on the construction and launch of the satellite in December 2013.
The document was signed following a meeting of the management of the companies involved in the project in Kyiv on May 24-26, Interfax-Ukraine learned at the State Space Agency of Ukraine.
The meeting participants included reprentatives of the customer of the satellite - the State Space Agency of Ukraine, the operator of the satellite – Ukraine's state-owned enterpris Ukrkosmos, the general contractor – Canada's MacDonald, Dettwiler and Ass
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ociates (MDA), a contractor for the production of the satellite's platform – Russia's OJSC Information Satellite Systems "Reshetnev Company" (ISS-Reshetnev), and a contractor for the satellite launch rvices – Russia's Center for Ground-Bad Space Infrastructure Facilities Operation. The meeting was also attended by Pivdenne Design Bureau and by Pivdenny Machine-Building Plant (Pivdenmash) (both bad in Dnipropetrovsk), which work on the first and cond stage of the launch vehicle (LV) for the satellite.cake
Ukraine invites bids from energy groups
Ukraine has invited bids from international energy groups to explore for oil and natural gas in two vast offshore fields on its Black Sea coast as Kiev steps up efforts to reduce the country’s reliance on increasingly expensive Russian gas imports.
Officials said bidswere expected within the next two months to explorethe 16,700 sq km
Skifska field, located clo to Ukraine’s offshore border with Romania, and the 13,600 sq km Foroska field, off Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.
Viktor Yanukovich, Ukraine’s president, has repeatedly described import prices charged by Russia’s Gazprom as unfairly high, and his administration has stepped up efforts to boost domestic hydrocarbon production.
裙子的种类Experts have described the planned exploration projects as a shift for Ukraine, who price disputes with Moscow have twice since 2006 triggered supply disruptions to Europe. The plans mark the first significant attempt by Kiev to break its heavy dependence on Russian fuel by bringing overas investors into a ctor long dominated by domestic and Russian groups. It imports about 40bn cubic metres of gas from Russia annually.
The new tenders come weeks after Ukraine cho Chevron of the US and Royal Dutch Shell as winning bidders in two multibillion-dollar onshore exploration projects that are expected to utili shale and other unconventional technologies to unearth hydrocarbons.
julianUkraine is estimated to hold Europe’s fourth largest shale gas rerves.
Government and industry sources said that companies eyeing the new offshore exploration projects include Shell, ExxonMobil, China’s Sinopec Italy’s Eni, Austria’s 没什么大不了的英文OMV, Brazil’s Petrobras and France’s Total.
The winning bidders are expected to pay an upfront premium of at least $300m to Ukraine’s cash-strapped government, an official said. Should commercially viable hydrocarbons be found, Ukraine’s government wants a 20 per cent share for domestic u.
Citing government estimates, Kiev-bad investment bank Dragon Capital said annual production from the Skifska and Foroska fields might “peak at 3bn-4bn cubic metres and 2bn-3bn cubic metres, respectively. With water depths in the areas reaching 1,500m, we think commercial development of the fields can realistically start in ven to eight years.”
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Investors will not be required to ll their share of hydrocarbons to Ukraine, but this option is likely to be attractive given the prices the country is paying for Russian gas imports.
吾志网Ukraine eks energy majors for Black Sea exploration
Ukraine has launched its cond round of hydrocarbon exploration tenders of this year, stepping up efforts to cut down on expensive Russian natural gas imports.
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To do that, the nation will have to boost domestic production with the investment and know-how of the world’s largest energy companies.
According to a June 2 announcement in the Uryadovy Kuryer government newspaper, an Aug. 2 deadline has been t for bids to explore for natural gas and oil in two vast offshore fields on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast.
The 16,700 square kilometers Skifska and 13,600 square kilometers Foroska fields are located off Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.
Ukrainian officials and industry insiders said they expect bids from the world’s largest energy companies, the likes of Shell, ExxonMobil, China’s Sinopec, Italy’s Eni, Austria’s OMV, Brazil’s Petrobras and France’s Total.
annotateThe new tenders come weeks after Ukraine cho US-bad Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell as winning bidders in two multibillion-dollar onshore exploration projects. Tho deals are expected tap the nation's shale gas rerves, believed to be the fourth largest in Europe.
The offshore exploration projects could also involve billions of dollars of investment.
The winning bidders are expected pay an upfront premium of at least $300 million to Ukraine’s government, an official source said. Should commercially viable hydrocarbons be found, Ukraine’s government eks no less than a 20 percent share of it for domestic u.
