JKX Slams Police 'Harassment' After Latest Raid

UK-listed producer JKX Oil & Gas, in a statement on January 25, has characterised police raids on its offices as "harassment."

It said that members of the National Police of Ukraine carried out an unannounced search of the Kiev office of JKX's subsidiary Poltava Petroleum Company (PPC) January 24, following previous searches at PPC's offices in Poltava on June 14 2016 and January 11 2017 as previously disclosed.

"As the scope of the investigation continues to broaden without any apparent reason, justification, outcome or conclusion, it is increasingly taking on the form of harassment rather than a legitimate investigation into PPC's business operations. The group strongly believes that these actions are unfounded."

The company said that PPC continues to cooperate with the enquiry, and has been providing all materials requested in the search warrants in full and in a timely manner: "JKX and PPC maintain that PPC is in full legal compliance with all relevant Ukrainian law and regulation."

Ukraine's Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman (Photo credit: Ukrainian government)

JKX added that it supports the intention of Ukraine's Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, expressed on January 23, "to declare war on everyone who hampers entrepreneurs creating new jobs and the government leading the country out of absolute poverty." 

As a leading investor and employer in Ukraine for 22 years, JKX said it believes it is exactly this kind of harassment that the government seeks to halt.

Four months ago JKX outlined plans to unlock 600bn ft³ of recoverable gas reserves at Ukraine's Rudenkivske gas field. Its net production for the first eight months of 2016, centred on Russia and Ukraine, was up 17.5% at 10,271 boe/d -- chiefly due to increased output in Russia. Overall revenues though were down by a fifth because of lower prices.

Mark Smedley