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The state oil and gas company Ukrnafta was unable to put the Stynavskoye field plot up for open tender after the special permit of the Boryslav Oil Company (BOK) was annulled. The main obstacle was the spatial overlap of boundaries with the adjacent Semyhynivske field, the rights to which belong to Pari Naftogaz LLC — a company controlled by the daughters of former Environment Minister Mykola Zlochevskyi.
Events began on 2 July 2026, when the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) adopted a decision on the application of sanctions. President Volodymyr Zelensky entered it into force by Decree No. 704/2026 of 3 August. The Boryslav Oil Company LLC (BOK) was included in the list of sanctioned entities, which was developing the Stynavskoye oil and gas field in Lviv Oblast.
Initially, the restrictions were in force for 10 years, and on 18 August, State Geology suspended BOK's sole special permit No. 1211. However, on 20 August, the NSDC changed its decision, making the restrictions indefinite (Decree No. 747/2026). On 18 September, by Order No. 449 signed by the acting head of State Geology, Serhiy Vlasenko, special permit No. 1211 was finally annulled.
This permit granted the right to extract oil and gas at a depth interval of 2,800–3,600 m.
The Stynavskoye field is one of Ukraine's largest oil objects, as confirmed by the 2020 report of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). According to BOK data, in the first half of 2026, the company extracted an average of about 43 tonnes of oil and 68,000 cubic metres of gas daily, paying over 1.5 million hryvnias to the budgets. On an annual basis, this amounted to approximately 15,700 tonnes of oil and 25 million cubic metres of gas.
After the introduction of sanctions, extraction at the field was halted.
On 21 September, JSC Ukrnafta applied to State Geology with application No. 336-PR/1-26 for the conduct of electronic tenders. On 25 September, the processing of the documents was entrusted to the State Enterprise "Geoinform of Ukraine". On 28 September, the head of the enterprise transformation commission, Pavlo Bovsunivskyi, signed letter No. 06/306-3463 with a refusal.
The document cites two reasons for returning the application:
The first problem can be solved technically, but the second is fundamental: as long as the Pari Naftogaz permit has no depth limitations, any applications for Stynavskoye may be rejected due to a boundary conflict.
According to YouControl data, the owners of Pari Naftogaz LLC are Anna and Karina Zlochevskyi — the daughters of ex-Environment Minister Mykola Zlochevskyi. Previously, the company was included in the list of assets of Burisma Holdings, which was owned by Zlochevskyi.
Mykola Zlochevskyi held the post of Environment Minister in the government of Mykola Azarov in 2010–2012. On 1 August 2023, the High Anti-Corruption Court approved a plea deal in which he admitted guilt in organising the abuse of influence (Part 3 of Article 27, Part 1 of Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code) in the case of the attempted bribery of the leadership of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO). He was fined 68,000 hryvnias.
The Lviv Regional Prosecutor's Office attempted to challenge special permit No. 5398, but the Supreme Court upheld it in May 2025, as the prosecutors failed to prove the justifiability of the missed deadline for filing (the permit was issued in 2011).
On the surface, the contours of the Stynavskoye and Semyhynivske fields partially overlap, but underground they are different objects. The deposits of Semyhynivske, according to State Commission on Subsoil Protocol No. 4167 of 23 November 2017, lie at a depth of 3,605–4,540 m, i.e. below the Stynavskoye ones (2,800–3,600 m).
The problem lies in the fact that in the BOK permit form, the boundaries are specified by both area and depth. In contrast, in the current version of form No. 5398 for Pari Naftogaz, issued on 21 July 2022 under the signature of the then head of State Geology, R. S. Opymakh, only geographical coordinates and an area of 16.6 sq km are indicated. Depth boundaries are absent, although the form itself refers to State Commission on Subsoil Protocol No. 4167, where the deposit interval is clearly defined.
The last re-issuance of the Pari Naftogaz permit form took place during the tenure of Roman Opymakh as head of State Geology (November 2019 — November 2024). Previous investigations recorded a series of scandals around the opaque distribution of licences during this period.
Sources in State Geology suggest that the refusal to Ukrnafta may become a prerequisite for a new State Commission on Subsoil protocol, which would allow Pari Naftogaz to claim deposits above the 3,605 m mark. Persons who may influence these decisions include: the head of State Geology, Serhiy Vlasenko; the director of the Legal Support Department of State Geology, Serhiy Huba; the director of the State Information Geological Fund of Ukraine, Pavlo Bovsunivskyi; and the head of the State Commission on Subsoil, Serhiy Paiuk.
If the hypothesis is confirmed, the area of the plot available for tender will decrease by more than 30%, and the starting price may fall by 35–40%. Currently, the editorial team has sent requests to State Geology, "Geoinform", the State Commission on Subsoil, and Pari Naftogaz LLC, asking them to explain why the permit for reserves at 3,605–4,540 m is considered to have no depth limitations, and when the Stynavskoye field will be put up for auction.
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