Cadogan's Ukraine deal rubber stamped by court

Oil and gas explorer Cadogan Petroleum has had last month's settlement of a long-running dispute with Ukraine formally approved by the courts there.The Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine rubber stamped the terms of the settlement agreement announced in September with state-owned NSJC Nadra Ukraine and its subsidiary Poltavanaftogazgeology (PNGG).As a result, the court has discontinued the case between PNGG and Nadra over the previous ownership of the licence for the Pirkovskoe field. Cadogan and Nadra can now finalize the full sale and purchase agreement for the wells on the Zagoryanska license and end all legal actions against each other with respect to the Pirkovskoe and Zagoryanska licenses."The approval of this agreement by the court confirms full support for settlement of all currently outstanding matters with respect to Cadogan's licenses," said chief executive Ian Baron."We now look forward to developing our business in Ukraine and continuing our cooperation with the state authorities in a transparent and mutually beneficial manner."Last month, Cadogan agreed to withdraw its claim for damages against Nadra with regard to the initial licence challenge in July 2008, and buy five wells at Zagoryanska from Nadra for $3.2m.This includes the Zagoryanska 3 well, which Cadogan currently rents from Nadra. It went into commercial production on 1 August and continues to produce gas and condensate at rates of approximately 50,000 and 15 cubic meters per day respectively.