PRESS: Gazprom to begin sales to Naftogaz before debt repayment

MOSCOW, Feb 8 (PRIME) -- Russian gas giant Gazprom will not demand repayment of a U.S. $2 billion debt from Ukraine’s state energy holding Naftogaz Ukrainy before the start of gas deliveries, but will ask for prepayment, Kommersant business daily reported on Thursday.

Naftogaz CEO Andrei Kobolev said on Wednesday that his company plans to start purchases from Gazprom already in March.

In December 2017, the Stockholm court obliged Naftogaz Ukrainy to pay U.S. $2 billion to Gazprom, cut annual contracted purchases to 5 billion cubic meters, and ordered the Ukrainian company to buy 4 billion cubic meters under a take-or-pay condition from 2018.

A Gazprom representative told Kommersant that his company does not link repayment of the $2.02 billion debt with the start of deliveries. However, the debt is to be repaid in line with the court decision. The debt implies a 0.03% interest for each overdue day, and it will rise to $41.8 million by March.

Ukraine said earlier that it planned to wait for a decision of the Stockholm court on a $16 billion transit case of Naftogaz against Gazprom before paying.

Kommersant said that Gazprom is likely to sell gas to Ukraine on a prepaid basis until the contract expires on December 31, 2019.

End