KIEV, October 19 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine has signed a production sharing agreement with Texas-based independent oil company Vanco Energy to develop hydrocarbons off the country's coast, the presidential press service said on Friday.
"This is a strategic project for Ukraine, which sets a unique precedent in building on the one hand a national energy strategy, and on the other hand, cooperation with leading international investors," President Viktor Yushchenko said.
Vanco Energy won a tender earlier in the year to develop the 12.96-square-kilometer field, located in Ukraine's economic zone 13 kilometers from the coastline of the Kerch Strait, defeating bids from oil majors ExxonMobil and Shell.
The 30-year production sharing agreement is expected to attract over $15 billion in investment, produce more than 200 million tons of hydrocarbons, and create several thousand jobs.
Ukraine and Vanco will share profits on a 65-35% basis.
