KIEV, Sept. 6 - Italian energy company Eni seeks to tap oil and natural gas deposits in shallow waters offshore the Black Sea in Ukraine, Energy and Coal Industry Minister Eduard Stavytskiy said Friday.

“We have a proposal from Italian companies, namely Eni, for the development of the shallow shelf,” Stavytskiy told lawmakers in Parliament.

Eni has been also working jointly with Cadogan Petroleum Plc of the U.K. to start drilling for shale gas in Ukraine.