Wells in the Warzone: The Battle for Ukraine’s Energy Independence

Imran has a BSc in Petroleum Geology (2018, Royal Holloway, University of London) and a MSc in Petroleum Geoscience (2019, Imperial College London), with his thesis focusing on seismic characterization of mass transport deposits in the Gulf of Mexico. Shortly after finishing his MSc, Imran worked as a mud logger onshore Romania for several months. Imran then joined Enverus in October 2020, where he initially started covering North West Europe before starting to cover Continental Europe since early 2020.

Olha is an award-winning business leader with extensive international experience in business development, growth strategy, capital raising, and stakeholder engagement across the energy, infrastructure, and industrial sectors. As founder of a management consulting firm, she has led cross-sector initiatives, built organizations from the ground up, and advised senior government and corporate leaders. Her career includes a pivotal role in Ukraine’s Presidential Administration and leadership of major public-private initiatives. Named “Business Leader of the Year” in Ukraine’s Energy Industry (2019), Olha has worked with global institutions such as Deloitte, the OECD, and IFC. She brings expertise in commercial strategy, ESG, international partnerships, and corporate governance, with Board roles in Austria, Norway, and Ukraine. Her global network and ability to deliver measurable impact make her a sought-after advisor and negotiator in complex, high-stakes environments.

Jaroslav Kinach was President of Iskander Energy Ltd, a Canadian company focused on oil and gas exploration in Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Georgia. Based in Kyiv, he led Iskander’s regional operations, applying modern technology to develop energy assets. Following Russia’s 2014 invasion of eastern Ukraine, where Iskander’s licenses were located, the company ceased operations. Previously, Jaroslav served as Ukraine Country Head for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, growing its portfolio from $50 million to $1 billion. He later advised the Prime Minister of Ukraine and helped Kyiv launch its first $150 million Eurobond. As Executive Director of XXI Century Investments, he led Ukraine’s first IPO on London’s AIM exchange in 2004. He has held board roles across banking, real estate, IT, and mining sectors in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Canada, and Sweden.

Duncan is Chairman of the Independent Supervisory Board of Ukrnafta PJSC, Ukraine’s national oil company. He brings over 40 years of global oil and gas experience, with senior leadership roles spanning Latin America, Europe (including Ukraine), Africa, and the Middle East. His expertise includes light and heavy oil, gas production, exploration, field development, crude storage and transport, and gas-to-power. Duncan has led corporate restructurings, asset acquisitions, and complex development projects, while building high-performance teams with strong HSE and ESG cultures. He has served on multiple Boards and held executive positions with Frontera Energy, Gran Tierra, Dana Gas, Encana, Nexen, and ARCO/BP.

Patrick joined Enverus in February 2017 and leads the Global Research team, helping expand the firm’s research depth and breadth beyond North America. He brought decades of industry experience from 17 years with E&P companies generating and drilling exploration prospects in North America, Saudi Arabia and central Europe plus another nine years in management and executive leadership roles. Patrick’s deep knowledge encompasses developing and selling exploration prospects, appraising unconventional plays and using multivariate techniques to help answer complex oil and gas questions. Based in Edinburgh, Patrick earned a bachelor’s degree in earth sciences from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree in exploration and development geophysics from Stanford University. Areas of expertise: exploration, geology and geophysics, business development and new ventures.