PJSC Odesa Port-Side Chemical Plant (OPZ) started pre-commissioning and will resume its work on August 1, 2019, said OPZ Deputy Director on Economic and Financial Issues Volodymyr Vakeryak at a press conference regarding signing of give-and-take contract with LLC Agro Gas Trading (Kyiv).

Agro Gas Trading Director General Oleksandr Horbunenko has said that the contract with the plant was signed by December 1, 2019 and foresees delivery of minimum 240 million cubic meters of the natural gas within four months.

For his part, Deputy Head of the State Property Fund Yevhen Astashev has said that NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy gave a green light to resuming of the works despite plant's debts worth UAH 1.5 billion (plus penalties). The OPZ for its part is obliged to pay off the debts to Naftogaz sharing profits received from Agro Gas Trading for providing processing services ($1,5 per each carbamide tonne and $1 per each ammonia tonne).

"Production has been standing idle for more than a year, only the ammonia transshipment complex is working at the level of 2.3 million tonnes per year. The plant signed an agreement with a supplier, for whom we will perform gas processing services. In the near future we plan to start preparing for the launch of two carbamide facilities and one ammonia complex. If all the conditions of the contract are met, we could receive products in August," he said.

As reported, Odesa Port-Side Chemical Plant has been standing idle since the end of April 2018. Its work was stopped due to violation by the contractor, All-Ukrainian Energy Company LLC, of the agreement with Ukrtransgaz.

The plant called work on a give-and-take basis the only possible option for resuming work in the face of failure of privatization attempts and accumulated debt for gas to NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy, which exceeds UAH 1.5 billion.