Regal Petroleum: Ukraine Court Suspends Ministry Order

2nd Jul 2010 13:32

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Regal Petroleum PLC (RPT.LN), an AIM-listed oil and gas exploration and production group, announced Friday that it received an injunction order made by the District Administrative Court of Kiev, Ukraine, on July 2, effective immediately, suspending the Ministry of Environmental Protection's order which halted operations dated Mar. 30, pending a further hearing of the action in the District Administrative Court of Kiev. MAIN FACTS: -On June 28, the company advised that it had received an order on May. 21, but dated Mar. 30, signed by the Minister of Environmental Protection identifying certain matters requiring rectification in relation to Regal's compliance with certain legislation in Ukraine relating to its operations at its Mekhediviska Golotvshinska or MEX-GOL and Svyrydivske or SV gas and condensate fields, and requiring a suspension of operations whilst such matters were rectified. -The action has been brought by OJSC Ukrzakordongeologia against the Ministry of Environmental Protection challenging the Ministry Order on the basis that the Ministry Order affected OJSC Ukrzakordongeologia's contractual rights to offtake the company's gas production at its MEX-GOL and SV gas and condensate fields. -OJSC Ukrzakordongeologia purchases all of the company's gas production from the company's MEX-GOL and SV gas and condensate fields in Ukraine under a long term gas offtake agreement. -As a result of the court's injunction order, the company's drilling and production operations may continue, as they have done, throughout these events without any interruption of gas supplies to OJSC Ukrzakordongeologia. -Shares at 1230 GMT up 3.25 pence, or 12.62%, at 29 pence. -By Zechariah Hemans, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9411; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 02, 2010 08:32 ET (12:32 GMT)