Ensuring Transparency in the System of Subsoil Use (UA0110)

Currently, Ukraine does not have an online library of geological information. It does not regulate access to primary geological data, complicating access to relevant information for citizens, their associations, and business entities. The Law of Ukraine No. 2805-IX “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Improving Legislation in the Field of Subsoil Use” supplemented the Subsoil Code of Ukraine with Article 51, which provides for the functioning of a unified state electronic geoinformation system for subsoil use, a multifunctional integrated information and communication system providing information support and assistance to the process of subsoil use in Ukraine and consisting of a set of interconnected information systems, registers and databases, software and information complexes; software, hardware, and technical means of electronic communication which ensure the combination of certain information resources in the field of subsoil use, information processing and protection, and internal and external information interaction. Resolution No. 511 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, dated May 19, 2023, approves the Procedure for the Maintenance, Functioning, and Access to Information of the Unified State Electronic Geo-Information System for Subsoil Use. The unified geoinformation system will foster a single information space in the field of geological study and rational use of the subsoil by combining relevant information resources and optimizing the processes of joint use of technical and software facilities. The main objectives of the unified geoinformation system are: Keeping records of subsoil areas provided for use; Creation, collection, receipt, storage, use, dissemination, protection, and defense of information in the field of geological exploration and rational use of subsoil; Ensuring electronic interaction between subsoil users, state authorities, and local self-government bodies to perform the tasks established by law in the field of geological exploration and rational use of subsoil, including the processing of information generated in the course of the activities of subsoil users, including subsoil users operating under production sharing agreements; Increasing the level of transparency and efficiency of performing tasks related to subsoil use, reducing the time and financial costs of information search, calculation, and analysis works, and creating proper subsoil use reporting. Such a system, when created, will significantly facilitate public access to geological information and make the system of subsoil use more understandable and transparent.

Steps | Responsible agency | Completion time/period | Delivery indication

1. Development of the terms of reference for the unified state electronic geo-information system for subsoil use | Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources State Service of Geology and Subsoil | November 2023 — April 2024 | The terms of reference for the unified state electronic geo-information system for subsoil use have been developed

2. Creation of the unified state electronic geoinformation system for subsoil use | Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources State Service of Geology and Subsoil | May — December 2024 | A unified state electronic geo-information system for subsoil use has been created and put into trial operation

3. Amendments to regulatory acts regarding the form of a special permit for subsoil use, the procedure for maintaining the State Register of Artesian Wells, and the procedure for maintaining the State Register of Oil and Gas Wells | Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources | January — June 2025 | Relevant normative legal acts have been submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for consideration

Action Plan Review

• Verifiable: Yes
• Does it have an open government lens? Yes
• Potential for results: Modest
• Commitment 10 aims to establish a unified electronic geo-information system for subsoil use, per the amendments to the Subsoil Code of Ukraine, which entered into force in 2023. [81] The goals of the system are to manage information in the field of geological exploration and use of subsoil and ensure electronic communication and data exchange between subsoil users, state authorities, and local self-government bodies. The system will be open to the public. The IRM assesses it as having modest potential for results in increasing the transparency on subsoil use