Royalty decentralization starting 2018 should make the locals more interested in cooperation with the gas production industry. After all, from every additional cubic meter of gas produced, the local communities will receive financial reward. This has been stressed out by the executive director of the Association, Roman Opimakh, during the 5% royalty to local budgets: the outlook for development of producing regions from 2018 roundtable.

"Deducting 5% of the royalty to the locals will stimulate the development of the regions and improvement of the social and economic situation. The planned distribution – 2% to oblast and regional budgets, 1% – to the village budgets, should make the locals more interested in increasing production".

Achieving the important for the country goal of energy independence, according to Roman Opimakh, is impossible without drilling new wells, developing new fields, and receiving new fields for exploration. The industry and the local communities should structurally cooperate in this direction and make steps towards each other.

The Chairman of the Board of PJSC Ukrgasvydobuvannya, Oleh Prokhorenko, has informed that this year the company has increased the financing of the social projects in the regions by 2.5 times – to 100 million hryvnia, compared to last year.

"We have calculated, what the 5% will mean for the locals in 2018. For Kharkiv oblast – approximately 560 million hryvnia (oblast, regional, and local budgets, combined), Poltava oblast – 460 million hryvnia, Lviv oblast – 35 million hryvnia, Dnipropetrovsk oblast – 34 million hryvnia, Ivano-Frankivsk oblast – around 8 million. The numbers are quite large, but they can be even larger – it all depends on the local communities. The more each oblast is willing to cooperate by facilitating production in the region, the more funds its community will receive from gas production" – said Oleh Prokhorenko.

Starting January 1, 2018, the local communities will be able to feel like the co-participants of the processes, held by the Government and the Parliament on the way to energy independence of the country. 5% of royalty to the local budgets is the achievement of many people, noted MP Olga Bielkova in her speech:

"I would like these funds to be directed at large-scale infrastructure needs of the regions, such as education, energy efficiency, healthcare, instead of fixing short-term problems. The received funds should develop the communities and help people stay in their hometowns".