Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The State Stynavske oil and gas field in Lviv region was not put up for a public auction after the previous user’s special permit was canceled, because State Geonadra cited attaching the area to the neighboring Semyhynivske field, for which Pari Naftogaz LLC holds a special permit, owned by the daughters of former Ecology Minister Mykola Zlochevsky. Ukrnafta proposed placing the Stynavske field on an open auction, but the application was returned due to the boundary and depth positions of the subsoil minerals.
Mykola Zlochevsky ended up at the center of this story through the ownership structure of Pari Naftogaz. The company is owned by Anna and Karina Zlochevsky, Mykola Zlochevsky’s daughters. This company holds the special permit for the Semyhynivske field, which borders the Stynavske field, according to media reports. The problem arose after sanctions on the Borislavska Oil Company, which previously held the special permit for the Stynavske field. After sanctions were applied, the permit was canceled, and the field effectively remained without a valid user. Ukrnafta offered to transfer it to open bidding to determine a new mineral user through an auction. However, instead of preparing the area for sale, Ukrnafta’s bid was returned. According to the provided data, Geoinform Ukraine pointed to an alleged overlay of the Stynavske block onto the Semyhynivske field. This circumstance became the basis for further denial by the State Geonadra. Meanwhile, the two fields differ in depth. The Stynavske deposit lies roughly at depths from 2800 to 3600 meters. For the Semyhynivske field, the depth range is reported from 3605 to 4540 meters. Thus, these characteristics indicate different intervals of depth, although the question of spatial overlap of the blocks is determined not only by the depth of deposits but also by coordinates and the boundaries of the special permits. Here lies the key detail in the situation involving Mykola Zlochevsky. The current special permit for Pari Naftogaz does not impose a depth restriction, according to the cited information. Therefore, the formal absence of such a restriction allows interpreting the permit more broadly than the actual depth interval of the deposits specified for the Semyhynivske field. For the state, the consequence of this situation is that the Stynavske field, after cessation of the previous special permit, was not immediately transferred to a competitive auction. Instead, the question of its further use ran up against the boundary and conditions of the private company’s special permit, owned by the Zlochevsky family. Mykola Zlochevsky is not the formal owner of Pari Naftogaz, but the beneficial owners of the company are his daughters Anna and Karina Zlochevsky. Even after leaving public service, Mykola Zlochevsky maintained ties to the gas business through structures registered to family members. An additional context is the criminal case against Mykola Zlochevsky. In 2023, the former minister admitted guilt in the case of organizing an attempt to bribe leadership of NABU and SAP. The court decision in this case became one of the most resonant episodes of his activity after leaving the government. Mykola Zlochevsky headed the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources during Viktor Yanukovych’s presidency. His name has over the years been associated with business in gas extraction and use of Ukrainian subsoil. After changes in the ownership structure, part of the assets ended up under the control of people close to him, including family members. According to data cited by Borislavska Oil Company, prior to sanctions the enterprise paid more than 1,5 million UAH daily to budgets. After canceling the special permit, production on the relevant area stopped. Thus, the dispute around the Stynavske field has not only corporate but also budgetary dimensions. In the case of Mykola Zlochevsky, a notable aspect is that decisions regarding a state field essentially intersect with the terms of the special permit of a private company owned by his daughters. At the same time, the final legal assessment of whether an overlay of blocks truly exists depends on official coordinates, geological materials, and documents defining the boundaries of both special permits.
The informational accompaniment of this story also raises questions. Publications about Mykola Zlochevsky and the situation around the Stynavske field, based on the available data, began disappearing from some large Telegram channels. In particular, posts were reported as deleted from the channel “Trukha” that contained negative information. A similar episode, according to available information, occurred with the INSIDER UA channel. A publication citing a investigation into the situation around the state gas field in Lviv region allegedly remained accessible for about nine minutes before being deleted. The publicly stated reasons for the deletion were not established, so attributing it directly to Mykola Zlochevsky without additional evidence would be incorrect. At the same time, the mere fact of the disappearance of certain publications does not change the essence of the ownership issue. The Stynavske field, after the cancellation of the previous special permit, remains a state resource, and Ukrnafta’s proposal to place it on an open auction was not realized due to the argument about possible overlay with the neighboring block. For Mykola Zlochevsky and the related business, the key remains Pari Naftogaz’s special permit. If its boundaries truly hinder holding an auction for the Stynavske field, the question is why a state resource cannot be put up for competitive bidding because of a private company’s permit and whether the claimed restrictions correspond to the actual depths of the deposits. The situation requires a documented separation of the two fields, because it is precisely the coordinates, depth, and legal boundaries of the special permits that determine the possibility of placing the Stynavske block for auction. Until these issues are resolved, the state field is not used as intended, and the budget, according to the previous user, loses potential revenue from extraction.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Микола Злочевський: як хабарник рейдерить державне родовище та відаляє негатив із Мережі". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Fraza.