This week, the Government has made another step towards energy independence – has cancelled the baseless requirement for repeated state expertise and assessment of the mineral reserves every 5 years. Gas producers are confident that cancellation of this soviet-era rudiment is a progressive decision, and are expecting that cancellation of the norm will be implemented in practice as soon as possible.

"The approved by the Government initiative is in line with the international practice, because in the rest of the world, the reassessment of the mineral reserves is only performed in case of quantitative changes in reserves, and it depends only on the will of the subsoil user. Without doubt, decreasing financial and bureaucratic burdens on the gas producers will allow to direct the released resources at updating the equipment, drilling new wells, and increasing the domestic gas production" – commented the executive director of the Association, Roman Opimakh.

The Association is acknowledging the Government for supporting the important reforms for development of the gas production industry, and is expecting the soonest publishing of the amendments to decree №865 On approving the Provision on performing the state expertise and assessment of the mineral reserves from December 22, 1994, which should include the cancellation of the repeated state expertise and assessment of mineral reserves every 5 years.