Gazprombank threatens to confiscate pledged gas from Ukrainian storage

Макроэкономика 17.12.2014 Russian Gazprombank announced on Dec. 15 it is accelerating the repayment of its loan facility to Ukrainian fertilizer holding Ostchem, which failed to fulfill its obligations under the USD 843 mln facility, according to the bank. If the facility is not repaid by the year end, the bank will claim its collateral, including 5.68 bcm of natural gas that is being stored underground in Ukraine, according to the bank. The next day, Ukrainian state gas monopoly Naftogaz stated that it owns 11.45 bcm out of Ukraine’s 13.90 bcm in total gas stored in its underground facilities, as of Dec. 1, 2014. Alexander Paraschiy: Ostchem has had much trouble this year, namely the arrest in Austria of its owner Dmytro Firtash and the stoppage of two fertilizer plants owing to the Donbas war, costing more than half of the holding’s production capacity. Therefore, it will be very unlikely to have enough cash to repay the Gazprombank loan. The Naftogaz statement suggests the maximum amount of gas that Ostchem subsidiaries store in Ukraine is 2.45 bcm, as of Dec. 1. At the current prices, this gas could be valued at about USD 900 mln, which is enough to repay the principal amount of Ostchem’s debt. At the moment, we do not see any risks for Ukraine’s gas system this heating season from Gazprombank’s announcement.