Ukraine to attract EU revolving credit to buy gas – Yatseniuk
Ukraine has 16 billion cubic meters of natural gas in stock stored in underground facilities and will be able to handle the current heating season without new gas purchases from Russia, yet it is conducting talks with the European Union to borrow additional loans to buy gas, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk.
"We're working to receive a revolving loan from the EU countries," he said in an interview with Ukrainian TV Channels on Friday evening.
In his words, prices on the gas market are favorable to Ukraine amid a further decrease in prices of crude oil.
As was reported earlier, NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy on October 23, 2015, signed an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on a revolving loan worth $300 million against state guarantees to buy gas. The funds shall be spent on the purchase of about 1 billion cubic meters at the western border of Ukraine.
What is more, the EBRD approved last year the disbursement of EUR 150 million for Naftogaz to buy gas, and not all the funds have been used until now.
Another international support of gas purchases by Ukraine is a project by the World Bank Group's International Finance Corporation, which may provide up to $200 million in trade financing for the period of up to 12 months to a large European gas supplier, ENGIE (formerly GDF SUEZ), which is to ship gas to Naftogaz during the current heating season under a framework contract between the two companies.
