Naftogaz Ukrainy has increased its natural gas production this year and intends to survive the winter using only Ukrainian gas, having a reserve of gas purchased abroad using funds from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Board Chairman Oleksiy Chernyshov said on the sidelines of the 20th annual YES meeting organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in Kyiv.

"The so-called Emergency Credit Line has existed with the EBRD for several years now. We use this Emergency Credit Line every year to form a certain reserve for possible scenarios, which we also calculate. This reserve actually remains in the country's customs warehouse and is not imported into the country," he told reporters.

Chernyshov noted that this is a standard technological procedure for the company, which it carries out every year, including the one used last year.

"Last year we had [the EBRD credit line] EUR 300 million, this year - EUR 200 billion, even less... All the needs of Ukrainian consumers are met by Ukrainian gas," the head of the board emphasized.

Commenting on the issue of using Ukrainian gas storage facilities (UGS) by foreign gas traders, Chernyshov noted that the dynamics are low this year.

"We would like much more, in some places traders even take something. There are obvious challenges for everyone, so now we are counting mainly on our own [gas]. And that's what we planned," he noted.

The head of the board specified that right now the dynamics are "low negative," but it is necessary to sum up the results at the end of the year.

As reported, at the end of 2022, Naftogaz attracted a EUR 300 million loan from the EBRD under state guarantees, and a reserve stock of natural gas of 748 million cubic meters was created in the customs warehouse mode using these funds.