Public Joint-Stock Company Ukrnafta, which completed the formation of a supervisory board in August 2024 with a single-director executive structure since late 2022, is now focused on establishing a management board, according to Chairman Duncan Nightingale.

"We are currently choosing candidates for the positions. Within the following two to three months, we want to finish this procedure. In parallel, we are collaborating with our shareholders to create a new Company Charter that adheres to industry best practices," Nightingale said in a brief interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

He recalled that in 2024, Ukrnafta elected a new Supervisory Board consisting of five members: two shareholder representatives from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and Naftogaz Ukrainy, and three independent directors from Norway, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

"Together with the management of Ukrnafta, we are actively working to apply OECD best practices," Nightingale said.

He also noted that the company is adopting ESG best practices and European non-financial reporting standards.

"We are working on the ESG development strategy and intend to introduce it this year. We appreciate USAID's assistance with this endeavour," Nightingale added.

Ukrnafta is Ukraine's largest oil extraction company and operates a national network of filling stations. In March 2024, the company took over the management of Glusco assets, and now operates 544 filling stations – 461 of its own and 83 under management.

The largest shareholder in Ukrnafta is Naftogaz Ukrainy, which holds a 50% plus one share.

In November 2022, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided to transfer the corporate rights of the company, previously owned by private shareholders, to the state. The Ministry of Defense now oversees these shares.

On November 9, 2022, the general meeting of Ukrnafta shareholders amended the company's charter, changing the collective executive body (management board) to a single-director structure led by Serhiy Koretsky, the former CEO of the WOG gas station network.

In March 2024, the meeting approved Timothy Dodson, Ireneusz Fąfara, and Nightingale as independent supervisory board members following a competitive selection process. Nightingale was later appointed chairman.

Nightingale has over 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and is an international expert in hydrocarbon exploration across Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He is currently CEO and a board member of Blacksteel Energy.

Dodson has more than 40 years of experience in extraction and geology, previously serving as Executive Vice President at Equinor and now chairs the board of Norway's Ennox Technology Sdn Bhd, which specializes in oil waste processing.

Fąfara was appointed head of the Polish Orlen Group in April 2024. He was later replaced on the Ukrnafta board by Kateryna Kuznetsova, who has over 25 years of experience in international auditing firms, rising from junior consultant to senior manager at Ernst & Young (Australia). She has also served as General Manager of the Finance Department at SingTel Optus (Australia's second-largest telecom operator) and Director of Capital Markets at PwC (UK).

The shareholders are represented by Liudmyla Darahan (Ministry of Defense) and Roza Tapanova (Naftogaz), who also represented the state in the previous Ukrnafta supervisory board.