Norway will finance the procurement of natural gas imports for Ukraine worth up to 188.8 million euros via a grant from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Ukrainian state-owned oil & gas company Naftogaz announced on 1 February.
The agreement was signed last Wednesday (1 February) by the CEO of Naftogaz, Oleksiy Chernyshov and EBRD Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, Matteo Patrone.
“This agreement testifies to the support provided by the Government of Norway to Ukraine in the current challenging circumstances. We are also very grateful to our partners from the EBRD through which the financing will be directly provided, for their assistance and work on the agreement. This grant makes it possible to procure volumes of gas that fully cover all of Ukraine’s needs for natural gas until the end of this heating season,” said Oleksiy Chernyshov.
The agreement is a non-repayable grant that will help Ukraine “remain resilient despite the difficult situation in the energy sector,” according to Naftogaz’s press release. It does not involve repayment, interest, or fees from Naftogaz or the Ukrainian government.
“The financing will be provided through a grant from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD),” added Matteo Patrone.
In November 2022, Oleksiy Chernyshov and Matteo Patrone agreed to deepen cooperation between Naftogaz Group and the EBRD on energy security and the current 2022/2023 heating season.
