26-04-03 The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) intends to take part in the international gas transportation consortium being created by Ukraine, Russia and Germany, EBRD First Vice President Noreen Doyle told. The EBRD will either provide credits to the project or will invest money into its charter capital, Doyle said.
The EBRD has not determined the amount of funds it is prepared to contribute to the project, she said. “It is too early to say what role we will play and what amount of money we will allocate,” she said.

Russian gas giant Gazprom and Ukrainian state oil and gas company Neftegaz Ukrayiny registered the consortium in January this year. The consortium is registered in Kiev. It is expected that the consortium will start operating no sooner than in September, when its business model, amounts of investment and other questions are expected to be determined.
Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma reached a preliminary agreement on the establishment of the consortium. Following the agreement, Putin, Kuchma and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder issued a joint statement calling for increased cooperation in the use and development of Ukrainian gas transportation facilities in order to ensure stable supplies of Russian natural gas to Europe.

On October 29, Gazprom and Neftegaz Ukrayiny signed the founding documents for the creation of the consortium. According to the documents, Gazprom and Neftegaz Ukrayiny agreed to initially contribute $ 500,000 each to the project, with which the consortium will conduct pre-investment tests to be finished by next summer.
Along with Russia and Ukraine, other parties are expected to take part in the consortium including Germany, France and Italy.