JSC Ukrgazvydobuvannia this year will provide production of 12.7-12.8 billion cubic meters (bcm) of marketable gas, while the annual consumption by the population directly and through heating companies is about 13.4-13.6 billion cubic meters, head of the Naftogaz Ukrainy board Yuriy Vitrenko has said.

"Ukrgazvydobuvannia is no longer producing 14 billion cubic meters, if to talk about commercial gas. Now it is about 12.7-12.8 billion cubic meters. The population, even if we conservatively count, consumes about 13.4-13.6 billion cubic meters, depending on the temperature," he said in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency.

According to him, another 1-2 billion cubic meters of gas will need to be provided for budgetary and religious organizations, but the missing volumes will be covered by Naftogaz gas imports and purchases from Ukrnafta.

"Now there are almost 19 billion cubic meters of gas in storage facilities. We understand that 10-15% of these volumes belong to non-residents and they can be exported to Europe. Or they can be sold here, if prices on our market are not lower than European ones. But even without these volumes, there should be enough gas for the normal passage of the heating season - precisely due to the fact that Naftogaz imported gas," Vitrenko assured.