The Ukrainian government has successfully sold a special permit for the development of the Liubynets oil and gas block in Lviv region for UAH 110 million. According to the Prozorro.Sale platform, the transaction was completed only on the sixth attempt. The field is located in the Stryi and Drohobych districts, approximately 15 km southwest of Stryi. The permit grants the right to explore and develop subsurface resources at depths starting from 4,000 meters, excluding the portion overlapping with the Dovholutska block at depths of 4,700–5,800 meters.
Three companies participated in the auction. The starting price was UAH 48.3 million, but it more than doubled during bidding. The winner was Gas-MDS LLC, which offered UAH 110 million. According to YouControl, the company is part of the business group owned by the Huzenko family, led by Oleksandr Huzenko. The group is active in gas extraction, wallpaper manufacturing, and real estate, and its assets include Nadra-Geoinvest LLC, which is developing the Skorobahatkivske field in Poltava region.
The funds raised from the sale will be transferred to the state budget and directed to the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund in line with Ukraine’s international commitments, the State Service of Geology and Subsoil reported. The permit is valid for 20 years and includes geological exploration, pilot production, and full-scale extraction. The block contains confirmed reserves of gas, oil, dissolved gas, and condensate.
Oleh Hotsynets, Head of the State Geological Service, emphasized that attracting private capital to the development of deep oil and gas horizons in Lviv region is a strategically important step toward strengthening Ukraine’s energy resilience. The Reconstruction Investment Fund (RIF) is a joint initiative of the governments of Ukraine and the United States created to mobilize private investment into key sectors of the economy.
The fund’s creation was carried out in several stages. On April 17, Ukraine and the United States signed a memorandum confirming their intention to conclude an agreement on subsoil use. On April 30, the parties agreed to establish a joint fund that would invest in mineral extraction, oil and gas production, as well as related infrastructure and processing facilities in Ukraine. On May 8, the Ukrainian parliament ratified the interstate agreement launching the fund, and its official operations began on May 23.
On May 13, the Agency for Public-Private Partnership and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) signed two commercial agreements defining the fund’s governance structure and the mechanism for forming its capital. Ukraine’s representatives on the supervisory board include Deputy Economy Ministers Oleksii Sobolev and Yehor Perelyhin, as well as Foreign Ministry State Secretary Oleksandr Karasevych. The fund will be managed on a parity basis — 50% by Ukraine and 50% by the United States.
Ukraine will contribute 50% of budget revenues from the sale of new special permits and from the new mineral extraction royalty. The United States will contribute either direct financial injections or allocate a portion of new military assistance as a financial contribution. Profit distribution from the fund is planned after its first ten years of operation.
