KIEV, Mar. 2 ??“ Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov confirmed Wednesday that the world??™s oil majors, including ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco and Royal Dutch Shell, will bid for a license to extract oil and gas offshore the Black Sea.

The bidding by the majors underscores importance of the project that Yekhanurov said may help Ukraine boost natural gas output by 10 billion cubic meters annually within several years.