MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the agreement, the guarantee is provided for four years, with two years for gas purchases and two years for repayment. The company will be able to make the purchases freely based on the competitiveness of the proposals.
"On 30 December 2016, Naftogaz signed with Citi and Deutsche Bank a euro-denominated revolving credit facility for gas purchase in the equivalent of USD 500 million. The facility is secured by the World Bank’s guarantee, which, in turn, is secured by the sovereign guarantee issued within the formation of the energy fund," the statement read.
Ukraine is a key country for transit of Russian gas to Europe. However, for years Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in gas disputes. In June 2014, Russian energy giant Gazprom switched Ukraine to a prepayment system for gas supplies citing its massive gas debt. Naftogaz appealed to the Arbitration Court in Stockholm, seeking a retroactive revision of its 2009-2019 natural gas transit contract with Russia.
Earlier in December, Andriy Kobolyev, the head of Naftogaz said the company was ready to buy gas from Gazprom if provided with a beneficial price and complementary agreement to the existing contract.
