The upstream subsidiary of Ukrainian state gas company Naftogaz has secured a €36.4 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to upgrade its fleet of drilling rigs.
The subsidiary, Ukrgasvydobuvannya, will buy new mobile rigs with lifting capacities of 125 and 180 tons – a sharp jump from its current 80-ton rigs – boosting its ability to carry out complex workovers at deeper well levels, Naftogaz said in a press release.
"Upgrading our fleet will enable us to operate on deeper and more technically challenging wells, while also making it possible to accelerate the restoration of production at existing sites, ensuring stable gas supply for Ukraine," said Naftogaz CEO Sergii Koretskyi.
The subsidiary's existing equipment can't handle many workovers – a major maintenance operation crucial to the mature fields common in Ukraine – in its older, deeper wells, Naftogaz said.
In April, the EBRD said it would provide Naftogaz with a €270 million loan to finance emergency gas purchases for the next two heating seasons. Norway is supplementing the sovereign-guaranteed loan with a €139 million grant.
