Canada can finance the purchase of gas for Ukraine
Ukraine can receive 650 million Canadian dollars (close 460.9 million US dollars) in the form non-refundable grant for the purchase of natural gas. This possibility is currently being considered by the Canadian government as part of a new financial assistance package.
It is expected that these funds will help to form sufficient gas reserves for a stable passage of the autumn-winter period and will strengthen the energy stability of the country in the conditions of ongoing military risks.
What Ukraine and Canada agreed on
Funding issues were discussed during online negotiations Minister of Energy of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Canada Tim Hodgson.
The main topics of the meeting were:
- preparation of Ukraine for the next heating season;
- the possibility of financing the purchase of natural gas;
- development of cooperation in atomic energy;
- supply of modern energy equipment.
The parties also discussed further coordination of actions to strengthen the Ukrainian energy sector.
Ukraine offers Canada a long-term LNG supply partnership
During the negotiations, the Ukrainian side offered Canada to create strategic route of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply.
It is about the possibility of concluding long-term energy agreement for a period of 30 years, which will allow to diversify sources of gas imports and reduce dependence on individual supply directions.
In addition, Ukraine offered Canadian companies to use Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities for natural gas storage, which can become a profitable element of future cooperation.
Cooperation can also cover nuclear energy
A separate direction of the negotiations concerned the development of atomic energy.
Ukraine is interested in Canada's experience in small modular reactors (SMR), which are considered one of the promising areas of modern energy development. The possibility of including this issue in the future long-term bilateral energy agreement is being discussed.
The parties also discussed the prospects of supplying Ukraine with Canadian-made equipment for the modernization of the energy infrastructure.
Canada already supports the Ukrainian energy industry
Canada remains one of the key international partners of Ukraine in the field of energy security.
Currently, the country's total contribution to Energy Support Fund of Ukraine is 90 million Canadian dollars. In the spring of this year, Ottawa also highlighted 50 million Canadian dollars (about 33.4 million euros) in support of the Ukrainian energy sector.
If the new grant is approved, Canada's financial assistance will become one of the largest individual contributions to the purchase of natural gas for Ukraine.
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