The misunderstanding with Gas Natural Fenosa (Spain), which cropped up after the signing by the State Agency for Investment and National Projects of Ukraine of two agreements on cooperation in the construction of an LNG terminal on Monday, won't significantly affect the project, according to project coordinator Vitaly Demyaniuk.
“The major moment is that the construction of the terminal has already begun. Moreover, the underlying event of the Monday was the signing of an agreement with U.S.-based Excelerate Energy. It is important for us to understand that a floating terminal, of which there are a total of a couple of dozen in the world, will be available and will arrive in Ukraine when it is needed … As for the agreement with Gas Natural [where the misunderstanding appeared] – this is not an investment contract, it is only a cooperation agreement. We haven’t lost money, it won’t have any impact on the negotiation process,” he said.
The project coordinator gave more information about Jordi Sarda Bonvehi, who signed the agreement on behalf of Gas Natural, and the essence of the misunderstanding with the company.
“Bonvehi does not work for Gas Natural. He is a professional commercial representative, he represents the interests of Gas Natural, the interests of Enegas, and other Spanish companies … In this case, Bonvehi technically organized a visit of Gas Natural representatives to Ukraine, and had to accompany them during the ceremony,” Demyaniuk explained.
He said the representatives were to arrive on Monday, but they did not arrive in Kyiv.
“Having contacted Barcelona, he [Jordi Sarda Bonvehi] decided that he was authorized to sign the agreement on his own and he could confirm the authority later. But then misunderstandings appeared inside Gas Natural, and it turned out that Bonvehi had in fact exceeded his authority,” Demyaniuk added.
