VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Russian energy company GazProm signed a loan agreement with Bank of China on Thursday. GazProm borrowed €2 billion ($2.17 billion) on a 5-year term

Russian's Gazprom planned to meet investors in New York and London this week. The company plan to increase its gas supplies to European countries.

Finnish utility Fortum (FUM1V.HE) said on Wednesday it has failed so far to reach a deal with Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) and Rosatom on assets swap in Russia to allow it to take stakes in Fennovoima nuclear power plant project.

Ukraine's Naftogaz [NAFTO.UL] Chief Executive Andriy Kobolev will seek rapid progress on a deal to secure gas from Russia for the next 12 months in talks brokered by the European Commission in Berlin next week.

Ukraine has asked for 1 billion cubic meters of gas imports from Russia in April, trebling the amount it received in March, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Saturday.

A push to make gas contracts agreed with countries such as Russia more transparent has pitched Poland against Germany ahead of energy talks among European Union leaders on Thursday.

Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) said on Tuesday there were "serious" risks to gas transit to Europe via Ukraine after Kiev failed to make a pre-payment.

Russia has handed a multi-billion dollar contract to build a bridge to the Crimea peninsula to an ally and former judo partner of Vladimir Putin who is under Western sanctions.

German utility RWE will complete the sale of oil and gas unit DEA [RWEDE.UL] to Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman by early March, it said on Friday, easing fears of a potential collapse.

Russia's ruble rose on Friday to its strongest levels in more than three weeks, in a sharp rebound from its recent all-time lows, after the government ordered exporters to sell some of their hard currency revenues.

Ukraine expects Russia to resume supplies of gas from Monday after Kiev transferred a pre-payment of $378 million to Gazprom, its energy minister said on Sunday.

With freezing temperatures gripping Kiev, Ukraine's state energy firm Naftogaz said on Friday it had transferred $378 million to Russia's Gazprom to buy Russian gas for December, paving the way for the first shipments since Moscow cut supplies in June.

Russia on Monday scrapped the South Stream pipeline project to supply gas to southern Europe without crossing Ukraine, citing EU objections, and instead named Turkey as its preferred partner for an alternative pipeline, with a promise of hefty discounts.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday he had discussed models of debt repayment to Russian state gas giant Gazprom with Russian President Vladimir Putin by telephone.

Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz said on Tuesday it had transferred $1.45 billion to Russia's Gazprom, the first tranche of debt repayment required by an agreement that will see Moscow resume gas supplies to its ex-Soviet neighbor.