Russia may consider a rebate program to help service providers replace aging oil and gas rigs as U.S. and European sanctions bar technology imports, according to two government officials.

The Energy Ministry proposed the state offer subsidized loans and cash bonuses for rigs older than 25 years to companies buying domestically manufactured rigs, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the recommendation isn’t public yet.

President Vladimir Putin has called for businesses to replace imports with domestic goods this year as relations with the U.S. and its allies collapse in sanctions and counter sanctions over the separatist conflict in Ukraine. Russia, which depends on oil and gas taxes for about half the federal budget, needs more efficient equipment to develop remote deposits and increasingly challenging geology to maintain production as easy resources, tapped in the Soviet-era, decline.

The Energy Ministry has sent a proposal on rigs to the government, the press service said, declining to elaborate.

The main obstacle to modernization in Russia is that the rates for services aren’t sufficient to cover loans to buy new rigs, the people said, citing the proposal. About 40 percent of Russian drillers’ rig fleets, on average, is approaching retirement age, they said.

The stimulus program would consider compensating two-thirds of the central bank refinancing rate in effect when a credit agreement is signed, and the loans may be granted for seven to 10 years, they said.

Russia has used similar rebate programs, like the deal called cash-for-clunkers in the U.S., to promote sales and support the domestic car industry, while taking older cars with lower fuel efficiency and higher pollution off the streets.