The future owner of the Odesa Port Plant will not be obliged to repay the company’s debts
16.10.2026 - 11:29
According to lawyers, the risks for the future investor are low.
The winner of the privatization auction for the sale of the Odesa Port Plant (OPP) will not be obliged to repay the company’s debt to OSTCHEM, associated with Dmytro Firtash, with its own funds. This was reported by the State Property Fund of Ukraine.
The legal audit was conducted within the framework of the international project EU4State Asset Reform Technical Assistance Project (EU4SAR) with the support of Expertise France. Its results were presented to potential buyers of the plant before the privatization auction scheduled for October 19, 2026. .
This is a debt of $251.2 million, which arose due to the supply of natural gas by OSTCHEM in 2012–2014. In 2016, the Stockholm Arbitration Court ordered OPP to pay $193.3 million in principal and about $58 million in fines.
At the same time, the Supreme Court of Ukraine refused OSTCHEM permission to enforce the arbitration award in Ukraine. According to the SPFU, this limits the possibilities of collecting funds within the Ukrainian jurisdiction. An additional factor is the sanctions against Dmitry Firtash and his associates, which limit the making of relevant payments during the period of the sanctions.
The State Property Fund also emphasizes that the buyer of the plant and the OPP itself are separate legal entities. Therefore, the company’s debt does not automatically mean the emergence of the same debt obligation for the investor. In addition, the privatization terms provide for the exemption of the auction winner from the obligation to repay debts to sanctioned persons.
The possibilities of collecting funds abroad are also limited. According to the SPFU, the OPP does not have accounts, real estate or shares in other companies there. In many jurisdictions, the period for recognizing an arbitration award is three years, although specific limitations depend on the legislation of the relevant country.
Another argument in the legal assessment is the conclusion of the Supreme Court regarding the role of the Russian Gazprombank as the actual beneficiary of the debt. In Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 187 is in force, which establishes a moratorium on the performance of certain obligations in favor of persons associated with the aggressor state.
Separately, OSTCHEM initiated international arbitration against Ukraine on the basis of the Energy Charter Treaty. However, the defendant in this case is the state, not the OPP. According to the State Property Fund, a possible tribunal decision in itself does not create financial obligations for the plant or its buyer.
The State Property Fund concluded that the legal risks associated with the debt to OSTCHEM for the future owner of the OPP are low. At the same time, this does not mean that the company’s debt itself has been canceled. USM previously wrote that the buyer of the OPP must invest at least UAH 500 million in modernization.
