KYIV. Nov 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Joint operations of public joint-stock company Ukrgazvydobuvannia and Karpatygaz LLC resulted in production of 53.7 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas and 2,700 tonnes of gas condensate in October, according to a posting on the website of Misen Energy АВ (Sweden, the owner of the controlling stake in Karpatygaz).
In addition, 400 tonnes of oil and 900 tonnes of liquefied gas were produced by the joint venture.
In October the joint venture sold 44.5 mcm of gas, and 7.8 mcm was used for technological needs of the Khrestyschynska compressor station. The entire amount of gas condensate and oil produced in October was sent for refining.
As reported, joint operations of Ukrgazvydobuvannia and Karpatygaz in 2015 resulted in a loss of UAH 87.317 million.
KYIV. Nov 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines, a leading operator of An-124-100 transport aircraft, is opening a new representative office in the United Kingdom from January 1, 2017, Dreamlifts Ltd.
The new company will represent the Ukrainian airlines’ interests instead of Ruslan International (RI), which was formed in 2006 together with Russia’s Volga−Dnepr Airlines and which will cease operations on December 31, 2016, the press service of Antonov Airlines said.
Antonov Airlines is to introduce its team in the UK which will take the lead in the global sales and operations of this unique cargo aircraft. Dreamlifts Ltd (trading as Antonov Airlines) is managed by an international group of well-known experts from the outsize and heavyweight cargo industry, the press service said.
“With decades of experience between them, Antonov Company expects a seamless transition for its customers in the global supply chain and a continuation of its flexible and highly personal service,” the company said in an official statement.
“Antonov Airlines’ activities are supported by Antonov Company’s in-house design and development capabilities providing unrivalled expertise for the most challenging logistic projects. As the maintenance authority and life extension authority, we will continue to offer these proven and reliable airframes to the market for many years to come. We look forward to working with the experienced and exciting team in the UK, and can see a bright future going forward with our customers,” the press service quotes President of Antonov Company Oleksandr Kotsiuba as saying.
Antonov currently operates a fleet of seven An−124s including the AN−124−100M−150 with a payload of up to 150 tonnes. It also operates the unique capability An−225 Mriya with a 250 tonne payload and the world’s largest turboprop, the An−22 Antei.
Since 2006, Antonov Airlines jointly with Volga−Dnepr have implemented a contract under NATO’s Strategic Airlift Interim Solution (SALIS) program in the interests of the Alliance and the European Union. In December 2014, the contract was extended until the end of 2016.
Antonov Airlines hopes to continue cooperation under SALIS after it ceases cooperation with the Russian airlines.
As part of the new format of partnership with NATO, the Ukrainian company does not rule out that Leipzig will remain the base for the Ukrainian Ruslan planes.
As was reported, Ukraine in 2014 stopped shipments of military and dual-use commodities to Russia in connection with the annexation of Crimea and occupation of Donbas.
Ukraine’s government in May 2015 undid an intergovernmental agreement on military and technical cooperation with Russia, which had been in effect since 1993.
KYIV. Nov 18 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Avellana Gold Ltd. (Cyprus) has acquired 100% of PJSC Carpathian Mining Company (Karpatska Rudna Kompaniya, Berehove, Zakarpattia region) and will invest $400,000 in it, which is equivalent to UAH 10.404 million.
According to the company, the decision to raise funds was made on November 16 this year.
The ratio of the market value of funds raised to the value of the issuer’s assets, according to the latest annual financial report, is 68.65%.
The terms of attracting funds are not disclosed.
PJSC Carpathian Mining Company is the successor of Carpathian Mining Company LLC, which was registered on June 13, 2012. Its core business is production of non-ferrous metal ore. Its charter capital stands at UAH 13.55 million.
As of the second quarter of this year, Avellana Gold Ltd. (Cyprus) held 100% of PJSC Carpathian Mining Company.
KYIV. Nov 18 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Dnipro-based Pivdenne Machine Building Plant named after Makarov (Pivdenmash) is preparing to ship to the U.S. Orbital ATK Inc. two main structures of the first stage of the Antares medium-class launch vehicle, whose cargo flights to the International Space Station (ISS) under a contract with NASA have resumed in October after its upgrading.
According to a report on the Pivdenmash website, in late October, representatives of the American company inspected the missiles. At present, one of the rockets has already been loaded on the railway platform, the installation of the systems on the second rocket is being completed. This work is expected to end in November.
“It is planned that two missiles will be delivered to Mykolaiv port soon from where they will be sent to the launch site,” the report says.
Ukraine and the United States have been cooperating under the Antares program since 2008. Orbital ATK designed the Antares launch vehicle under a contract with NASA worth $1.9 billion.
The basic structure of the first-stage launcher was designed by Pivdenne Design Bureau and produced at Pivdenmash. Ukraine’s Hartron-Arkos, Hartron-Ucom, Chezara (Chernihiv Plant of Radio Equipment), and Rapid are also involved in cooperation on the project.
In October 2014, the launch to the International Space Station of a private cargo spacecraft, Cygnus, atop an Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops flight facility in the state of Virginia ended in failure: the rocket exploded just seconds after the liftoff. The failure was traced to a fault in the first stage engines.
After this, Orbital ATK decided to replace the first stage engine. Following a tender for the new version of the Antares, Russian RD-181 oxygen-kerosene engines were selected as the engines of the first stage. Ukrainian experts ensured replacement and compatibility of the new engines of the first stage with a minimum change in the basic configuration of the missile.
Five launches of Antares are scheduled to be conducted by the end of 2018, six more between 2019 and 2024.
According to earlier reports, the U.S. plans to fully stop using Russian RD-180 engines, which are now used by the rocket Atlas 5 of the U.S. United Launch Alliance (ULA)., by 2019 due to the restrictions imposed on military-technical cooperation with Russia by the Congress in 2014. The supply of RD 180 engines, which are installed on new rocket Antares for the ISS, is now limited to the civilian sphere. Among the participants in the tender fort the development of engines to replace the Russian RD 190, which the U.S. Air Force announced in June 2015, was Ukraine’s design and construction bureau Pivdenne (Dnipro) with its new liquid RD 815.
At the moment, Ukraine and the U.S. continue negotiations on cooperation in rocket engines production.
KYIV. Nov 18 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Risoil S.A. plans to invest about $70 million in building the third and fourth stages of Risoil Terminal grain terminal at the Black Sea port (Chornomorsky port, Odesa region).
According to a company report on Facebook, in March 2016 it launched the first two stages of the grain terminal. The amount of investments was $70 million.
“Now we plan to build the third and fourth phases, which include the construction of the second universal warehouse, an auto loading station and a double-sided pier,” the statement reads.
The amount of investments will be also about $70 million.
Risoil S.A. was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2000. Its core business is logistics of oil, bulk and general cargoes in the Black Sea ports, sale and production of vegetable oils, trade in grains and oilseeds in containers, storage and processing of agricultural products.
KYIV. Nov 18 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Infrastructure Ministry has announced the start of the infrastructure projects contest.
“The Infrastructure Ministry with the help of the reform support group has announced a start of the infrastructure projects contest. This means that any region, city, town or rural community could submit an application to look for an investor to implement projects in the transport and infrastructure sphere. The best projects would be selected. The reform support group that works at the ministry would look for financing to realize them,” the ministry’s press service said, citing Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan.
The minister said that the program is intended to support reforming of the transport and infrastructure system at the local level. The projects are to aim at increasing comfort and safety of citizens.
“Infrastructure projects could be financed only if the national interests are observed. The financing cannot be raised for private companies. This is investment in the development of the state, not private business,” Omelyan said.
The application submission system will be available on the ministry’s website.
