Novatek to stop production at Mechel’s main Ural assets

The amount of the enterprise’s debt for supplied gas has exceeded 1.7 billion rubles.

Many-millioned debts of Chelyabinsk metallurgical plant (ChMK) for gas supply have forced Novatek-Chelyabinsk to apply to commercial court of the South Ural region. According to actual bills of complaint, only in October-November of 2013 the company owed over 870 million rubles. The total amount of the debt of Mechel’s enterprises, including ChMK, for delivered gas exceeded 1.7 billion rubles that makes the company the largest defaulter among industrial enterprises. At the same time, the supplier also has other problems – according to the latest information, municipal entities of the Chelyabinsk region “accumulated” the gas debt in the amount of over 600 million rubles. Experts say that stop of gas supply doesn’t threaten to municipal entities, but there are no obstacles to impose sanctions against the plant.

The chief of the Novatek-Chelyabinsk’s PR Department Irina Velizhaeva says: “Unfortunately, the Mechel’s management deviates from constructive negotiations. The talks may be said to come to deadlock”. Velizhaeva noted that the company finds stop of gas supplies the most effective measure.