Enwell weighs up risk after Ukraine sanctions major shareholder

London-listed Enwell Energy said on January 4 it was reviewing the risk of having its gas licences in Ukraine revoked, after the country's authorities imposed sanctions on its major shareholder, Vadym Novynskyi.

The sanctions against Novynskyi, a businessman and member of Ukraine's parliament, were introduced by the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine in early December. Later that month, PricewaterhouseCoopers resigned as Enwell's auditor in response.

New legislation that comes into force on March 28, aimed at improving upstream regulation in Ukraine, also includes a provision that if the ultimate beneficial owner of a hydrocarbon licence is sanctions, state authorities can suspend or revoke that licence.

"The company is reviewing the new legislation, and consulting with its external legal and other advisors in relation to the accurate interpretation of the new law, so as to enable the company to evaluate any requisite actions," Enwell said in a stock filing. "In the meantime, operations at the company's licences continue as normal."

Enwell operates four gas and condensate fields in northeast Ukraine.