Building an environmental permitting-support system for a production business at the national level
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200+
successful EIA procedures completed
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20%
of all positive EIA conclusions in Ukraine in the first 2 years
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12regions
geography of production activity
Context
Initial state
At the end of 2017, Ukraine introduced an entirely new environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure into law to meet European requirements. With no practice to draw on, this put at risk the uninterrupted continuation of production activity at virtually all industrial enterprises, including state-owned ones.
With no practice or precedent to draw on, the team was tasked with rapidly preparing the algorithms for building the relevant processes, establishing working relations with the authorized bodies, forming expert groups, and ensuring the timely completion of EIA procedures for one of Ukraine’s largest gas-production enterprises.
Project details
- Industry
- Oil-and-gas enterprise
- Area
- Environmental management / EIA / GR
- Geography
- 12 regions, 57 districts, 230+ communities
- EIA procedures successfully completed
- 200+
- Market share
- 20%+ of all positive EIA conclusions in Ukraine in the first two years
The problem
A new regulatory procedure with no practice — 40 active fields and a 100+ new well program at risk
Up to 40 active natural-gas fields and a program to drill more than 100 future wells faced the risk of simultaneous shutdown. The new EIA procedure was introduced without coordination with businesses — and the enterprise faced a systemic regulatory risk with no tools to address it.
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A complete absence of practice or precedent
The new EIA procedure had no precedent in Ukraine — neither the enterprise nor the regulator had established approaches to clearing it
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No team or internal processes
The enterprise had no EIA specialists, no internal processes, and no understanding of the resources needed to clear the new procedures at scale
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No working relations with the regulator
The Ministry of Environment, as the process administrator, had no established methodology for engaging with businesses
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The scale and geography of production 12 regions, 57 districts, 230+ communities — each
EIA procedure required separate work with the community in a specific territory
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Accumulated problems in community relations
A large number of problems in relationships and conflict-driven public activity around production projects created a risk of derailing public hearings
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A systemic regulatory risk to energy security
A shutdown of production at 40 fields meant a direct threat to the state's energy security and independence
How the problem was identified
The problem was identified while building the risk map for the production-growth program. Analysis showed that the new regulatory procedure, without systematic preparation, could simultaneously block activity at 40 fields and halt the program to drill 100+ wells.
The solution
Steps in building the system
We formed a working group that conducted a comprehensive analysis of the new regulatory environment, identified the key risks, and developed a model for the practical implementation of EIA procedures. In parallel, we supported the first procedures, tested approaches, and scaled them across the entire production program.
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Analyzing the new legislation
We carried out a detailed analysis of the EIA legislation and prepared a map of the necessary processes, lists of stakeholders (team, experts, communities, regulator), and lists of the resources and provisions required.
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Building working relations with the regulator
We held working consultations with the ministry and developed a methodology for launching procedures from the business's side — effectively creating a precedent for the entire market.
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Assessing social risks
We assessed the risks of resistance to lawful business activity from communities and activists for each production territory.
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Preparatory work with communities and authorities
We held preparatory meetings with the leadership of communities, districts, and regions. We engaged key national media — Uryadovyi Kurier and Holos Ukrainy — to publish information.
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Forming the team
We formed central and regional teams with a clear distribution of responsibility for clearing EIA procedures in each territory.
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The first procedures and scaling
We held the first public hearings and developed optimal algorithms for clearing EIA procedures. The approaches that worked were scaled across the entire production program.
Results
Measurable achievements after building the system
Building the system resulted in more than 200 successful EIA procedures and ensured the uninterrupted growth of natural-gas production. In the first two years the new EIA procedure operated in Ukraine, 20% of all positive EIA conclusions were secured by our team. In effect, the team created a systematic model of environmental permitting support that became the benchmark for the whole industry.
Before the system
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No practice in clearing EIA
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No team or internal processes
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No relations with the regulator
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A risk of shutting down 40 fields and derailing 100+ wells
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A conflict-driven environment in communities
After the system
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200+ successful procedures in 3 years
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Qualified central and regional teams
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An established methodology with the ministry
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Existing fields and all new wells have permitting documentation
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Systematic engagement across 230+ communities
