On March 31, in Washington (USA), the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC) and Ukraine’s largest independent oil & gas producer Burisma Holdings held a joint presentation.
The topic of the event this year was “Ukraine’s Energy Security Future”, where the President of the US-Ukraine Business Council Morgan Williams and Vadym Pozharskyi introduced the model for Ukraine’s energy sector development and shared expectations on reform and deregulation of the energy sector, the country’s strategic industry. The USUBC has more than 200 member-companies, with 100 being the largest foreign investors in Ukrainian economy.
According to the Advisor to the Board of Directors at Burisma Holdings Vadym Pozharskyi, the company also conducted series of meetings with Offices of US Senators – Rob Portman, Jeanne Shaheen, Marcy Kaptur and their advisors on energy issues and international relations in order to brief on current situation in the area of energy security, oil & gas market reforms and future development of Ukrainian gas market. Prior to the Washington meetings, the USUBC held roundtable discussions in Kyiv with the United States Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey R. Pyatt and Minister of Finance of Ukraine Natalie Yaresko, where businesses operating in Ukraine outlined their expectations.
In particular, Ambassador Pyatt stressed the importance of reforming the energy sector. Taking into account the industry’s contribution in terms of GDP, it could easily serve as a driver for economic growth, along with agriculture sector and infrastructure projects. According to him, special attention should be placed on increasing domestic gas production and creating a transparent market with clear rules. This will not only help to solve the problem of country’s energy security, but also will attract foreign investment. Minister Yaresko promised further liberalization of fiscal policy, simplification of tax administration and deregulation of business processes to improve the investment climate in the country.
