The Ukrainian president's website posted an announcement on September 26 saying Energy Minister Eduard Stavytskyy had signed the deal with representatives of the consortium.
Stavytskyy said that, once developed, the Skifska field should produce some 8 billion to 10 billion cubic meters of gas annually.
The field is located in the northwest part of the Black Sea near the border with Romania.
Ukraine sees shale gas development as important step for easing its dependence on costly gas imports from Russia.
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