LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) - Oil and gas firm Regal Petroleum said on Wednesday it was still waiting for a Ukraine court to rule on whether it could restart production at its gas fields in the north of the country.
The company, whose main assets are in the Ukraine, has not produced any gas from the Mekhediviska-Golotvshinska or Svyrydivske fields since November last year when it responded to an order issued by Ukraine’s Ministry of Environmental Protection to suspend its operations.
The company has in the past said the order from the Ministry related to Regal’s compliance with legislation in Ukraine which was of a procedural rather than an operational nature.
Regal, which since March has been majority-owned by Ukrainian conglomerate Smart Holding, has started legal proceedings challenging the Ministry’s order but courts in the Ukraine have yet to rule on the matter.
The company said that it did not know when the legal process would conclude and it may not be able to give any update on the situation before it posts notice of its annual general meeting and accounts to shareholders, which it must do by 30 June.
Shares in Regal, which have risen 197 percent in the last six months, closed down 5.6 percent at 43 pence on Wednesday, valuing the company at about 142.7 million pounds ($234 million).
