Contractors Vie for Gas Field Work in Ukraine
Two Chinese firms and a Romanian one are vying for a contract to boost recovery at mature gas fields in western Ukraine.
Ukraine’s state-owned UkrGasVydobuvannya (UGV) said on December 12 it had shortlisted a Chinese joint venture between Xinjiang Beiken Energy Engineering and Zhongshi Shengli Oil Engineering, and Romania’s Expert Petroleum Solutions, for a contract. The contract covers work at 13 gas fields in western Ukraine, near Lviv.
“Our goal is to increase the volume of marketable gas, but most Ukrainian gas fields are depleted,” UGV’s first deputy chairman Oleksandr Romanyuk explained. “This is especially true in the western region.”
UGV will now hold commercial negotiations with the bidders. The selected contractor will receive control of production infrastructure at the fields, in order to increase yields, the Ukrainian firm said.
As Ukraine’s largest gas producer, UGV is playing a central role in the country’s drive to increase domestic output and cut down on imports. The company has bought rigs and other international equipment and hired contractors in order to improve recovery at its producing fields, while also investing more in exploration. As part of this effort, it has acquired 18 new licences during a series of state licensing rounds over the past year.
UGV increased output by 1.6% last year to 15.5bn m3, while national output reached 21bn m3.