The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expects that an agreement to issue a loan of EUR 52 million to PJSC Ukrgazvydobuvannia could be signed by the end of February 2019, Deputy Director of the EBRD Representative Office in Ukraine Marina Petrov has said.

"As the deal is with state guarantees, we hope that the Ministry of Finance will start to promote this deal soon. We, for our part, should be ready to sign it in January-February. Although this is a small deal, EUR 52 million, it is very important, because it focuses on measures to increase the efficiency of the company's production and the financing of equipment that helps rehabilitate the existing wells. There will also be co-financing from the European Investment Bank, which will be more focused on compressor stations," she said at the round table "Achievement of Gas Production Goals by 2020" in the profile parliamentary committee.

Petrov also reported that at present the EBRD is considering another project for one of the private Ukrainian companies. At the same time, she said that the bank is negotiating and discussing the details of a possible deal due to which is not ready to disclose its details now.

She also assured that the EBRD is ready for other larger gas projects in Ukraine.

"But this requires holding auctions, allocating new sites - without this no investors will want to go to the country, respectively, there will be no new funds, and in such conditions it will be difficult to talk about increasing gas production," she concluded.