Ukrainian companies Naftogaz and Ukrnafta increase their gas production by 6% since January

Ukrainian oil and gas companies Naftogaz and Ukrnafta increased their natural gas production by 6% to around 12.3 billion cubic meters (bcm) between January and October, Naftogaz said on Thursday.

Naftogaz said in July that it planned to increase its gas production to 15 billion cubic meters this year, from 14 billion cubic meters in 2023. Ukrnafta is Ukraine’s largest oil company and its share is owned by 50% plus one by Naftogaz.

During the coming winter months, gas is essential to Ukraine for heating.

Ukraine’s energy system has been targeted by Russia, whose strikes on electrical installations have caused outages.

“We are doing everything in our power so that Ukrainians can spend the heating season on their own fuel,” said Oleksiy Chernyshov, CEO of Naftogaz Group.

Last year, Ukraine’s total gas production fell from 18.5 billion m3 in 2022 to 18.7 billion m3, while domestic consumption fell to around 19 billion m3.

Ukraine, which was previously one of the largest importers of Russian gas, has been dependent on imports from European Union countries and its own production since 2015.