REUTERS
Leading European gas traders are ready to participate in tenders for the supply of gas to Ukraine, paid for with the funds from the loan provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine Artem Shevaliov wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
"Pre-qualification tender procedure, which will be held under the supervision of the Bank, began last week. All the major European traders are involved!" Shevaliov said, noting that the decision of the EBRD in fact "historical and revolutionary."
On September 30, the Board of Directors of the EBRD approved a loan worth $300 million to NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy for buying natural gas on the European market to fill storages for the winter heating period and the reform of the energy sector.
As UNIAN reported earlier, along with the purchase of gas, the loan of $300 million will strengthen Ukraine's energy security by supporting diversification of natural gas suppliers and delivery routes.
It is closely linked to a previous Naftogaz pipeline project to upgrade and repair a key section of Ukraine's gas transmission system, the western part of the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod pipeline, which was signed between the EBRD and Ukraine in 2014.