Ukrainian NJSC Naftogaz has requested a partial prepayment from Gazprom for the transit of Russian gas to Europe. With the funds received, the Ukrainian company hopes to purchase gas supplies for the winter.
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The press service of Naftogaz reported this.
Let us note that such a scheme worked between Ukraine and Russia during the reign of former President Yanukovych, and its restoration was discussed at the Minsk meeting of the heads of the Ukrainian and Russian gas companies, Andrei Kobolev and Alexei Miller. The parties have not yet commented on how likely it is that the advance cooperation scheme will be returned.
The last time Gazprom gave Ukraine an advance was in the summer of 2013, when $1 billion worth of blue fuel was pumped into Ukrainian storage facilities. Today Ukraine is asking for $750 million, which corresponds to a 4-month payment for gas transit.
The idea of returning to the previous format of work arose in Kyiv after it became clear that there would be no European financing for the purchase of gas for the winter for Ukraine and the country would simply freeze.
Ukraine has been trying unsuccessfully for several months to reach an agreement with the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the IFC on loans totaling up to $1 billion. However, “nobody really wants to give money,” the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy, Vladimir Demchishin, was forced to state. Not a single European gas company wanted to replenish Ukrainian reserves at its own expense. Meanwhile, the European Commission demands that at least 19 billion cubic meters of gas be pumped into Naftogaz storage facilities on the eve of the winter season.
The negotiations between Miller and Kobolev in Minsk on Friday are the first bilateral negotiations between Gazprom and Naftogaz in six months. The last time Kobolev and Miller met face to face was in May 2014; later, meetings of the management of the two companies took place only with the participation of EU representatives. In 2015, instead of Alexey Miller, Gazprom was represented at the negotiations by the head of the Ministry of Energy, Alexander Novak.