Naftogaz Group has appointed Maksym Vityk, who has more than 20 years of experience in the world's largest oil and gas companies, as Director for Strategic Projects of the Upstream Division.

“Maksym Olehovych's overriding priority will be to develop strategic areas of Naftogaz activities aimed at increasing the company's and Ukraine's hydrocarbon resource base. Over the many years of working for ExxonMobil and Shell, he has won a track record for implementing projects for the exploration and production of unconventional gas, offshore development, and organizing successful partnerships with oil and gas giants, including national governments. This is exactly the experience that Naftogaz needs today to fulfill the strategic tasks set by our shareholder – the state,” said Oleksandr Romanyuk, Director of the Upstream Division of Naftogaz Group.

Maksym Vityk has a PhD in geological and mineralogical sciences, which he received at the Lviv Institute of Fossil Fuels of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. He also studied engineering sciences at the University of Calgary (Canada) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (USA). Maksym Vityk has 2 international patents in the field of hydrocarbon exploration and over 40 scientific publications.

Key milestones in the manager's career are ExxonMobil's US divisions (cumulatively 7 years), and Shell divisions in the US, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Russia, and Egypt (14 years). In these companies, Maksym worked his way up from a geologist to the head of large-scale exploration and production projects, as well as business development.

“I am glad to return to Ukraine and become part of the Naftogaz team, which is currently implementing new approaches to gas exploration and production in the country. The goals set by the company are not only a professional, but also a personal challenge for me, because we are talking about the energy independence of Ukraine,” emphasized Maksym Vityk.