KIEV, Aug. 22 - Ukraine plans by the end of September to sign a production sharing agreement (PSA) with an ExxonMobil-led consortium to tap a major Black Sea offshore natural gas field, Energy and Coal Industry Minister Eduard Stavytskiy said Wednesday.

The latest timeframe represents a one-month delay after the government has in July expected to sign the PSA in August.

“The government came to the final stretch of negotiations,” Stavytskiy said. “We expect that by the end of September the agreement will be signed.”