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The fuel and energy minister said Kyiv and Beijing plan to sign a memorandum on financing the construction of a combined-cycle power plant in Ukraine Ukraine will purchase a drilling rig from China to extract oil and gas on the Black Sea shelf, Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Minister Yuriy Boiko has said.

"We're purchasing the drilling rig via a commercial credit from a Chinese company: we've conducted a relevant tender. The conditions are very profitable, and we've practically received it on leasing [terms]," the minister said in an interview with Channel 5 on Tuesday evening.

According to the minister, the countries are also discussing the issue of the direct participation of Chinese oil and gas companies in the development of Ukrainian offshore oil and gas fields.

"At present we have rapid progress in attracting partners for the development of these shelf deposits. These are cost-based and risky projects [and] that's why we will attract leading companies of the world, and we are already doing this," Boiko said.

The fuel and energy minister said Kyiv and Beijing plan to sign a memorandum on financing the construction of a combined-cycle power plant in Ukraine, as well as to start cooperation in the sphere of energy efficiency.