Ukraine’s natural gas production increased to 18.7 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2023 from 18.5 bcm in 2022, Energy Minister German Galushchenko told Reuters on Tuesday.

Ukraine’s consumption fell to around 19 bcm in 2023, Galushchenko said last month.

Ukraine consumed about 27 bcm of gas in 2021 before the full-scale war with Russia, making it one of Europe’s biggest users of the fuel.

But Ukrainian economy shrank by about a third in 2022 as industries reduced or halted production due to security risks, disrupted exports and broken supply chains.

Galushchenko told Reuters last month that the country is closeto being self sufficient in gas for 2024, avoiding imports.

Ukraine has not bought gas from Russia since 2015, importing from European countries instead and increasing its own production.

Ukraine’s state-owned energy firm Naftogaz last year said it expected the country’s natural gas production to increase by 7% in 2024.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; editing by Jason Neely and Louise Heavens)