NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine has refused to implement the UAH 1 billion project to build the first powerful biofuel CHP in Lviv that was launched when Yuri Vitrenko was in charge of the company, Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovoy said.
“Unfortunately, we have not found the support of “Naftogaz” in the implementation of this project, so now the process is suspended. We are directing all our energy, in particular, to the construction of a waste recycling plant,” he told Energoreform correspondent on the sidelines of the high-level meeting “Agreement of Mayors in Ukraine: Planning Sustainable Development Together” in Lviv on Wednesday.
At the same time, Sadovy noted that no money was allocated from the city budget for the CHP construction project. “It was an initiative of the former head of Naftogaz (Yuriy Vitrenko – ER), but today the management of the company has a different opinion regarding such projects in Ukraine,” the Lviv mayor explained.
At the same time, he pointed out that among other things there is a waste composting station in Lviv, and other eco-projects aimed at reducing CO2 emissions are implemented.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, in September 2022, the Naftogaz of Ukraine jointly with the Lviv City Council launched a project to construct a combined heat and power plant on wood chips, which was planned to be put into operation by February 2023.
As Vitrenko said then, the cost of the project for the company will cost approximately UAH 1 billion.
Sadovaya, in turn, noted that for the city it will be the first powerful CHP plant on alternative fuel, which will cover about a quarter of its needs in heat. “We have planned such a project with the EBRD for a long time, but according to their classical procedures we could start it only next year. But Russian aggression has so activated the thought process that we came to agreements with Naftogaz,” he explained.
Similar projects were planned in other cities: under Vitrenko, Naftogaz announced its intention to build at least nine combined heat and power plants in eight regions of Ukraine with a total capacity of 250 MW of thermal energy and 52 MW of electrical energy.
According to Sadovyy, the construction of a waste processing plant in Lviv is planned to be completed by the end of this year. The works are 25% completed.
“Covenant of Mayors in Ukraine: planning sustainable development together” is the biggest movement in the world concerning climate and energy, which started in the European Union in 2008. Now the initiative unites 11 thousand local and regional authorities in 55 countries of the world. For today almost 300 Ukrainian communities have joined the climate movement. They have developed 180 action plans aimed at solving energy and climate problems. Signatories of the agreement in Ukraine have pledged to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 25 million tons per year.
Naftogaz group has paid more than UAH 30 billion of taxes to the state budget of Ukraine in the four months of 2023, which is 15% of all tax revenues to it during this time.
According to a report on the group’s website on Monday, Naftogaz Group paid a total of nearly 33 billion hryvnias to the state and local budgets as of May 1, 2023.
“Despite the war and the consequences it caused, Naftogaz Group remains one of the largest taxpayers in Ukraine and a reliable support for the treasury. Only in April we accumulated 6.2 billion UAH of taxes, which is almost 13% of all tax revenues of the state budget of the country”, – Chairman of the Board of Naftogaz of Ukraine Alexei Chernyshov was quoted in the message.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Ukrhazvydobuvannia (UHV), 100% owned by Naftohaz Ukrainy, transferred UAH 6.32 billion of rent payments to the country’s consolidated budget based on its activities in January-March 2023.
The Supreme Anti-Corruption Court has supplemented the preventive measure for the former head of Naftogaz Andrey Kobolev by wearing an electronic bracelet, the bail in the amount of 229.248 million UAH remains in force, the VAKS said.
“VAKS supplemented the main measure of restraint issued by the appellate chamber of VAKS with the need to wear an electronic bracelet,” the court told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Tuesday.
Earlier, the Appellate Chamber VAKS partially granted the petition, applying to the former head of the Naftogaz board a preventive measure in the form of bail in the amount of 229.248 million hryvnia. Also, the suspect was subject to the following obligations: to come to the detective, prosecutor and court at each request, not to leave Kiev without the permission of the detective, prosecutor or court, to inform the prosecutor, detective or court on change of his place of residence, to refrain from communication with other suspects in the case and witnesses, to deposit passport (passport) for traveling abroad with the appropriate authority.
According to the court ruling, the suspect had to deposit the funds within 5 days from the date of pronouncement of the decision.
On March 7, Kobolev was bailed out in the amount of 96 million 635 thousand UAH, which was not an obligation, since the funds were not received in full and not within the period specified by the court.
On March 8, the prosecutor asked the court to change the preventive measure for Kobolev – to keep him in custody with the alternative of making 365 million UAH, but not 229 million UAH, as it was before.
On January 19, 2023, the SAP and the NABU notified Kobolev of their suspicion of abuse of office in securing the payment of UAH 229 million in bonuses for his victory in the Stockholm arbitration with the Russian Gazprom. According to the investigation, this amount significantly exceeds the normatively determined amounts of such payments (37.48m hryvnyas).
Naftogaz of Ukraine on Friday improved a month-old proposal to restructure Eurobonds it defaulted on last summer, with the main changes affecting bonds maturing in 2022.
According to the presentation on Naftogaz’s website, it is proposed to increase the interest rate on Eurobonds-2022 from the date of approval of the proposal from 7.375% to 7.65% per annum, and also around April 15, together with overdue interest pay 5% of the principal amount of debt.
At the same time, Naftogaz offers to defer the payment of 50% of the principal debt for two years – until July 19, 2024, and the remaining 50% – until July 19, 2025, while in February it proposed to repay the entire issue on July 19, 2024.
As for the postponement of the redemption of Eurobonds-2026, the proposal remained the same: 50% for one year, until November 8, 2027, and another 50% until November 8, 2028.
Payment of interest on Eurobonds-2022 due on January 19, 2023, July 19, 2023, and January 19, 2024 is proposed to be postponed until July 19, 2024. For Eurobonds-2026 from November 8, 2022, May 8, 2023, November 8, 2023 and May 8, 2024 to November 8, 2024.
“Naftogaz wants to reserve the right to both early repayment of the overdue ones and to capitalize them.
Anthony Marino was elected chairman of the supervisory board of Naftogaz of Ukraine at a meeting on Friday, Alexei Chernyshov, head of the company’s board, said on Facebook.
“Just now at a meeting of Naftogaz’s supervisory board, its chairman was elected. I salute Anthony Marino on his election!”, – wrote the head of NAC.
“Anthony (USA/Canada) has significant management experience. He is currently president and CEO of (Canadian – IF) energy company Tenaz Energy. Prior to that, he served as executive director, president and CEO of Vermilion Energy, an international hydrocarbon exploration and production company,” Chernyshov noted.
Morino served on the supervisory boards and boards of directors of six companies and organizations from 2002-2020.
“I am sure that his many years of experience in hydrocarbon exploration and production will help our group of companies to achieve the best results,” the head of Naftogaz stressed.
Chernyshov said the reinstatement of Naftogaz’s supervisory board at a time when Ukraine’s energy system is being tested through a full-scale war is an extremely important development.
“Anthony Marino is an upstream specialist with more than 38 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. He is a U.S. and Canadian citizen,” added Naftogaz in Telegram.
He has served as executive director, president and CEO of Vermilion Energy, an international hydrocarbon exploration and production company with a market capitalization of $4 billion.
The Supreme Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has denied the prosecutor’s request for a preventive measure in the form of detention with an alternative to a 365 million UAH bail for the former head of Naftogaz of Ukraine, Andrey Kobolev.
The court made a decision to that effect on Monday night.
“The petition for a measure of restraint in the form of detention against the suspect Kobolev to leave without satisfaction … The decision can be appealed in the appeal chamber of the SACC within five days from the moment of the announcement,” the judge announced.
As reported, a prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and detectives of the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine last week notified the former head of Naftogaz Andriy Kobolev of suspicion of abusing his official position while ensuring himself a 229m hryvnia bonus payment for the company’s victory in the Stockholm arbitration with Russia’s Gazprom.
According to the investigation, this amount considerably exceeds the normative amounts of such payments (37.48 mln hryvnyas).
The Stockholm arbitration in 2018-19 as a result of two disputes between the companies on the supply and transit of gas ruled that Gazprom had to pay additional $2.56 billion to NAC.
At the same time, the arbitration fully rejected Gazprom’s claims to Naftogaz on the “take or pay” condition for the period 2012-2017 in the amount of $56 billion.
