World Bank provides Ukraine with guarantees on loans for gas purchase

The World Bank Board of Directors has approved loan guarantees totaling $ 500 million for the oil company Naftogaz. The state-owned company will use the money to buy natural gas. This will strengthen the survival of the heating season, as Oleksandr Danilyuk, Minister of Finance of Ukraine, commented on Facebook.

In accordance with the agreement with the World Bank, Naftogaz can, on the basis of loans, ensure the purchase of gas from both Western countries and Russia.

In mid-October, Ukraine collected more than 14.7 billion cubic meters of gas in its underground reservoirs. The European Commission believes that by the heating season, in order to ensure the security of gas supplies passing through Ukraine from Russia to the EU countries, Ukraine should have at least. 16 billion cubic meters.

Since November 2015, Ukraine has not purchased gas from Russia, but has also purchased it from suppliers in Slovakia, Poland and Hungary, which receive gas, including from Russia.

In June 2014, Naftogaz filed a lawsuit in Stockholm to determine a fair price for gas supplied by Russia to Ukraine. In response, Gazprom filed a lawsuit against Naftogaz in relation to the debt for the supplied raw materials. The Stockholm Court is examining two complaints in one case. It is expected that a decision on this issue will still be taken this year.