Ukraine guarantees ERBD loan of 200 mln euros for Naftogaz

MOSCOW. July 17 (Interfax) - Ukraine's Naftogaz will be able to borrow 200 million euros from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development under state guarantee to create strategic natural gas reserves.

Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko and EBRD Managing Director for Ukraine and Moldova Arvid Tuerkner signed the guarantee agreement on Tuesday, Ukrainian media reported, quoting a Finance Ministry statement.

The parties held a working meeting to discuss the implementation of joint projects and further priorities for cooperation. As of today, ten joint projects with the EBRD totaling 2.1 billion euros are currently being implemented in the public sector.

Support for the energy sector, including investments in renewable energy sources, infrastructure recovery, and private sector support will remain priority areas for attracting further investment.

The agreement on the EBRD loan of 200 million euros for Naftogaz was signed in November 2023 but would go into effect after the government guarantees are issued. Norway and the Netherlands are sharing the credit risk with the bank.

Naftogaz raised a loan from the EBRD for 300 million euros at the end of 2022. This was used to create a reserve of 748 million cubic meters of gas on customs warehouse terms.