KIEV, Feb. 28 - The State Geology and Deposits Service intends by May to submit proposals on licensing a number of oil and gas properties to the prime minister and the interagency commission responsible for signing production sharing agreements.

"Preliminary preparations are under way for two properties in the Prydniprovska Depression in Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Kharkiv regions. We are also looking at possible new offshore tenders, both deep and shallow water," the service's chief, Eduard Stavytsky, told a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on February 27.