Kyiv — Ukraine plans to increase its natural gas production by more than 5% in 2023 to 19 billion cubic meters (bcm) despite the Russian invasion, the head of the country’s major Naftogaz energy firm was quoted as saying on Monday.
Naftogaz is Ukraine’s largest gas producer, with output of 12.5 bcm of natural gas in 2022.
“This year, we have an ambitious goal to produce an additional 1 billion cubic meters,” Naftogaz Chief Executive Oleksiy Chernyshov told NV outlet.
“We also expect private production companies to increase their volumes. So in 2023, we will be able to produce almost 19 billion cubic meters of Ukrainian gas,” he added.
Ukraine has substantial reserves of natural gas, but consumption far outstrips production and the country is forced to import gas.
The country, which used to be one of the main buyers of Russian gas, has not been importing gas directly from Russia since 2015, instead buying it from the European Union. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Kirsten Donovan) – Reuters
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