Odesa’s Prymorsky district court has seized four self-lifting drilling rigs belonged to public joint-stock company Chornomornaftogaz seized by Russia when it occupied Crimea.
According to the court ruling issued on Jan. 27, 2017, a copy of which has been sent to Interfax-Ukraine, the rigs were arrested under a petition of the chief department of the National Police in Crimea and Sevastopol in the criminal case opened on Dec. 14, 2015 over the unlawful movement of the rigs and their seizure.
“To prevent the possibility of hiding, damaging, destroying, modernizing or selling the above-mentioned state-owned property the investigator asked to arrest floating drilling rigs V-319 Ukraine, V-312 Petro Hodovanets, Sivash and Tavryda. After studying the petition and materials proving the conclusions of the investigator, the court believes that the petition is to be satisfied,” the court said in its ruling.
As reported, early February an attempt by the Russian side from the rigs earlier seized by Russia to fire on a Ukrainian An-26 transport plane was made in the area of the Odeske gas field. After the plane returned to the airfield, its visual inspection revealed a three-centimeter bullet hole caused by firing from small arms.
Naftogaz Ukrainy said that the company intends to achieve the resumption of control over the assets lost due to occupation of Crimea by Russia and refunding of all losses at international courts.
Naftogaz in February 2016 initiated a negotiating process regarding the loss of its assets in Crimea by formally notifying Russia of an investment dispute under the bilateral investment protection agreement.
The six-month negotiating period ended in August 2016. Thus, the negotiating process produced no results, which entitles Ukraine to start arbitration proceedings against Russia regarding the investment agreement.
Naftogaz contracted Covington & Burling LLP (New York, the United States) to protect its interests in the litigation concerning the lost Crimean assets.
Naftogaz Ukrainy is wholly owned by the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers and consolidates the country’s largest oil and gas producing facilities. It holds a monopoly on the transportation and storage of natural gas in underground storage facilities and on the transportation of oil through pipelines across the country.
