Page 18 - FSUOGM Week 20

FSUOGM POLICY FSUOGM
Naftogaz changes the guard
UKRAINE
Vitrenko’s sacking was reportedly due to clashes with CEO Andriy Kobolev.
ADVISOR to Naftogaz CEO Olena Zerkal has been appointed to lead Naftogaz’s international arbitration, litigation and enforcement proceed- ings against Gazprom and the Russian Federa- tion, the company said in a press release on May 14.
The appointment follows the sacking this week of the company’s “bulldog,” business devel- opment director Yuriy Vitrenko, who doggedly spearheaded the negotiations with Russia’s Gaz- prom that delivered both a new transit gas deal in December and the payment by the Russians of $2.6bn in court settlements.
As bne IntelliNews reported, Vitrenko’s ouster was part of a large-scale management shake-up at Ukraine’s national gas company, but was also reportedly due to clashes between Vitrenko and his boss, CEO Andriy Kobolev.
Despite Gazprom’s decision to settle a Stock- holm arbitration court’s award of $2.6bn to Naf- togaz in December, Naftogaz has several other cases outstanding and is still claiming damages from Gazprom, so the legal fight between the two goes on.
Zerkal’s appointment is part of the ongoing organisational transformation of the Naftogaz group, the company said.
“My new role at Naftogaz is crucial for both the company and Ukraine. It reflects our long- term ambitions to integrate the country into
global markets while establishing a better busi- ness environment and greater energy security. Work on existing litigation and arbitration pro- ceedings will not only continue but will be accel- erated,” Zerkal said in a press release emailed to bne IntelliNews.
Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotenti- ary Olena Zerkal has 25 years of legal experience in both the public and private sectors.
In 2014-2019, as Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zerkal was responsible for European integration issues, including visa lib- eralisation with the EU. She represented Ukraine in the International Court of Justice and in arbi- tration proceedings against Russia concerning a range of issues that included sponsorship of terrorism, racial discrimination and Russia’s breach of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and wrongful arrest of Ukrain- ian naval vessels and their crewmen.
For two years, Zerkal was part of the Ukrain- ian negotiating team on post-2019 Russian gas transit to Europe and actively participated in trilateral Ukraine-EU-Russia talks regarding the so-called Winter Packages concluded for the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 heating seasons.
As Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zerkal was also involved in efforts to block construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipe- line, Naftogaz said. ™
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 20 20•May•2020