Russia violates Ukraine marine economic zone by setting drilling rig there

The Ukrainian State Border Guard Service reports that Russia has deployed its Tavrida floating drilling platform in Ukraine's marine economic zone, spokesperson for the State Border Guard Service Oleh Slobodian told Radio Krym.Realii.

He said all the crew members on the rig had been notified that they had violated the Ukrainian legislation, although there was no violation of Ukraine's borders and its territorial integrity.

"It is not a violation of any territorial integrity or the borders, but it's about the Ukrainian economic zone … Right now we are in touch with the Security Service, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Foreign Affairs Ministry, I know they are analyzing the situation too," Slobodian said.

"Now it's difficult to say how things will develop and I believe this issue must be revisited," he added.

Slobodian said a Border Guard ship was monitoring the situation on the scene.

Earlier, Russia's Federal Security Service sent its vessel to "protect" the Russian-seized drilling rigs near the Crimean coasts from Ukrainian ships.

As UNIAN reported earlier, in August 2015 the Cabinet of Ministers ordered NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine, the country's largest energy state holding, to recruit lawyers who would help defend Naftogaz's property rights in the Russian-annexed Crimea.

UNIAN memo. Chornomornaftogaz is a subsidiary of Ukraine's state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz. The company was established to develop oil and gas resources in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

The company has licenses for 17 fields, including 11 gas fields, four oil fields and two gas condensate fields. Its total reserves of all fields are estimated at 58.56 billion cubic meters of natural gas, 1.231 million tonnes of natural gas condensate, and 2.53 million tonnes of crude oil.

In March 2014, the Crimean authorities announced that they would nationalize the company, after Chornomornaftogaz' drilling rigs had been seized by armed men.