On Friday, April 25, Ukraine and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed an agreement on financing the purchase of gas. About this reported Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
“In Washington, together with the president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Odile Renaud-Basso, they signed an agreement that will strengthen Ukraine’s energy sustainability.” Shmyhal noted.
The agreement provides for attracting 270 million euros from the EBRD under state guarantees, as well as providing a grant in the amount of 140 million euros from the Norwegian government. Financing will allow Naftogaz of Ukraine to form strategic gas reserves.
“The EBRD investment will go towards financing emergency gas purchases for the next two heating seasons. Norway complements the state-guaranteed loan with a grant in the amount of 139 million euros, which is financed through the EBRD’s Special Crisis Response Fund”, the bank clarified.
Earlier, Naftogaz already received two loans from the EBRD in the total amount of 500 million euros, secured by guarantees of 275 million euros from the USA, Norway, Germany, France, Canada and the Netherlands, as well as grant funding from Norway in the amount of 187 million euros for emergency gas purchases.
The new agreement increases the total amount of financing provided by the EBRD to Naftogaz from 2022 to 770 million euros. At the same time, the latest grant from Norway brought the total amount of support to the energy sector of Ukraine through the EBRD during the war to 460 million euros.
