The number of employees of the Naftogaz Group, due to the integration of additional enterprises into it, will more than double by the end of the year - to 100,000 from 45,000, head of the Group Oleksiy Chernyshov has said.

"A year ago there were 45,000 employees, by the end of the year we will have more than 100,000 employees. This is a very large increase for any organization. It is explained by the integration of additional enterprises and activities in war conditions, ensuring a stable supply of energy. This includes regional gas companies, which will be fully integrated by the end of the year. The system is becoming more stable and reliable," Chernyshov said at the forum Success Formula for Ukraine: Big Day with NV on November 11.

At the same time, he noted that Naftogaz clearly admits that it is becoming a bigger monopolist than it was before.

"But I am a supporter of a fairly limited growth of Naftogaz, and I will be very glad and happy when we are able to offer some of the non-strategic companies for privatization," Chernyshov assured.

He also said that more than 16 billion cubic meters of blue fuel have already been accumulated in underground gas storage facilities, and Ukrainian gas production has increased by 7%, which, according to him, is a very high figure, especially in war conditions.

"This made it possible to actually enter the winter without gas imports. This is the first time such an event has happened, and I am glad that we will get through this winter at the expense of Ukrainian gas," Chernyshov added.

He noted that the volumes of non-resident gas in underground gas storage facilities amount to about 2.5 billion cubic meters, focusing on the fact that they store the resource without any guarantees. On the sidelines of the forum, in a commentary to Interfax-Ukraine, he clarified that although gas withdrawal has already begun recently due to increased consumption with the colder weather, relatively small volumes of resource injection by non-residents are still ongoing.

Chernyshov also welcomed the European Commission's recommendation in a report on Ukraine released last week on the abolition of public service obligations (SSO) as early as 2024 and expressed confidence that the government would cope with this task. However, he noted that reforms must be accompanied by the protection of vulnerable consumers.

At the same time, he called it unlikely that Naftogaz would be compensated for the costs of implementing the PSO.