Ukrainian private firm gets Russian loan for gas purchases
KYIV, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) — A private Ukrainian company said Tuesday that it has received a loan from a Russian bank to purchase 5 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
Ostchem holding, owned by Ukrainian tycoon Dmytry Firtash, said it has obtained the loan from Gazprombank, the banking arm of Russia’s gas giant Gazprom, to buy gas to fill Ukraine’s underground storage facilities.
“We have already pumped gas into underground reservoirs to ensure supplies in winter,” Firtash told reporters.
Firtash said that gas from Russia will enable Ukraine to provide constant supplies to domestic users and consumers in Europe during the heating season.
Financial details of the loan were not revealed, but local media estimated the deal at 1.34 billion U.S. dollars.
Last month, Russia’s Gazprom said it was ready to supply gas to Ostchem at a discount of 30 percent to 36 percent against the price Ukraine pays to ensure uninterrupted supplies to Europe in winter.
Ukraine, which currently pays about 400 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters for gas from Russia, has accumulated 18.1 billion cubic meters of fuel in its storage facilities as of the end of October.
Ukraine needs healthy gas reserves to allay fears of gas transit disruptions to Europe, which relies on Russian gas flows via Ukrainian pipelines for one fifth of its demand.