Ukraine seeks to boost gas output by 8% in 2014

Ukrainian Energy Minister Eduard Stavytsky said Wednesday that his country is seeking to increase natural gas output by at least 8 percent year on year in 2014. "We expect the total production of natural gas will reach over 22 billion cubic meters in 2014," Stavytsky told the press. Besides extraction from traditional deposits, Ukraine will start developing its vast unconventional gas reserves next year, which are estimated at 1.5 trillion cubic meters, said Stavytsky. The former Soviet republic consumes around 50 billion cubic meters of gas per year, heavily relying on imports from Russia. Last year, Ukraine produced 21 billion cubic meters of gas and imported around 30 billion cubic meters, of which more than 90 percent were from Russia.