KIEV, Oct. 17 – Ukraine will shortly begin talks with Eni of Italy and EDF of France over production sharing agreements allowing them to tap $4 billion of oil and gas projects offshore the Black Sea.

The companies seek to tap the fields offshore the Black Sea in the area of Kerch, Environment and Natural Resources Minister Oleh Proskuriakov said.

“The government instructed the interdepartmental commission to review the production sharing agreement, and the ministry to begin the talks,” Proskuriakov said after a government meeting Thursday.