KIEV, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine plans to auction off licenses for oil and gas extraction next year, local media reported on Wednesday, citing a senior official.
According to the government-run Ukrinform news agency, Oleh Kyrylyuk, acting head of State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine, said the licenses would cover 40 oil-and-gas fields.
Interested investors would find the geological information about the fields online, Kyrylyuk said.
Ukraine is trying to woo investors in its oil and gas sector to boost energy independence.
Ukraine's potential gas reserves are estimated at 5.6 trillion cubic meters, with an extractable amount of 924 billion cubic meters.
The oil deposits of the East European country are believed to be about 200 million tons.
