Uniper draws down €2b credit amid gas crisis

Uniper, a subsidiary of Finnish energy company Fortum has drawn on its €2 billion credit facility from Germany's state-owned KfW bank, reported German news agency dpa, quoting the company on Monday.

Uniper has been hit hard by the reduction in gas supplies from Russia through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

In order to fulfil its contracts, the company has resorted to buying more expensive gas on the market, which has led to liquidity problems.

The company agreed the credit line with KfW at the beginning of January, in view of the looming invasion of Ukraine and extended it at the end of March until the end of April 2023 as a precautionary measure.

The government is currently working on an aid package for Uniper.

Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Tytti Tuppurainen on 14 July visited Berlin and discussed the financial difficulties facing energy company Uniper with German Minister for Special Affairs and Head of the Chancellery Wolfgang Schmidt and State Secretary for Financial Market Policy and European Policy Jörg Kukies.

Earlier on July 8, Fortum's subsidiary Uniper seeks German government support.