AMSTERDAM, Dec. 7 ??“ Ukraine has tapped ABN Amro, a major Dutch bank, for financing a number of important energy sector projects, including building a section of an oil pipeline for Caspian Sea oil shipments to Europe.

Energy and Fuel Minister Ivan Plachkov was in Amsterdam Wednesday for talks with ABN Amro. He also met officials at Royal Dutch/Shell, a major oil company, which had been seeking to invest in searching for natural gas in Ukraine.