Energolife.info has long been monitoring the issue of issuing permits to oil companies to develop subsoil in Poltava region. However, for the last one and a half years deputies of the Poltava regional council approved only one permission, having issued at the same time more than 70 refusals. Our colleagues from Oilnews made a statistical analysis of the Poltava Regional Council in terms of approval of licenses. Since November 2015, deputies have met 15 times. “Gas issues” were raised at almost every session – mining companies do not lose hope of obtaining new permits to expand production. But each time deputies voted for refusals in coordination of permissions. The largest state-owned mining company, PJSC Ukrgazvydobuvannia, often applied for new permits, receiving the most rejections, as many as 58. The Arab Energy Alliance Yue was denied four times, driving the company’s president, Raid Bu Hamsin, to despair. Astrogaz has been denied development of the Pirkivskoye field three times. Four more companies received one refusal each. So, in general, the picture is as follows: PJSC “Ukrgazvydobuvannya” – 58 failures. “Arab Energy Alliance Yue” – 4 refusals. Astrogaz – 3 refusals. Ukrnafta – 1 refusal. Quasar Energy – 1 refusal. Astroinvest-Energy – 1 refusal. “Ukrainian Drilling Company” – 1 refusal. Gosgeonadra – 4 refusals to put up for auction 4 squares (Mykhailivska, Andriivska, Zharkivska and Dubrovska squares). LLC “Arkona GAS-ENERGY” – 1 permit. The owners of the gas company, which still managed to get the coveted permit – Igor Mychko and Alexander Neschotny – became the only ones who agreed to the terms of the deputies and signed a social agreement for 800 thousand hryvnias, which they pledged to invest in the region. We will remind, deputies of the Poltava regional council since the end of 2015 took a principled position to refuse the coordination of permissions if the extractive enterprises besides payment of rent payments don’t invest in the region under social agreements. Officials even determined the amount of the fee – 9 thousand hryvnias for each square kilometer. Not all producers agree to such conditions. Although, for example, the Arab Energy Alliance announced its readiness to make such concessions, it did not receive permission. If the mining companies and deputies of the regional council do not agree, new permits for subsoil development in Poltava region will not be agreed at least until the end of 2017. From January 1, 2018, the law №3038 will come into force, according to which 5% of rent payments will remain in the regions and will go to their development. Information from EnergoLife.info: Hydrocarbon reserves of Poltava region – 370 billion tons of conventional fuel out of protected 928 billion tons, which is almost 40%; 98 subsoil use permits are used by 28 enterprises; Gadyatsky district is a leader in natural gas production (1.7 billion cubic meters); Poltava region produces more than 66% (from national production) of gas condensate, 44% – natural gas, 12% – crude oil; 13.8 billion in rent was accumulated in the state budget in 2016; After the entry into force of the law №3038, according to estimates in 2016, more than 700 million hryvnias will remain in Poltava region.