NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy predicts a decrease in gas production by 3-6% in 2022 due to the war, chairman of the board Yuriy Vitrenko said.

"Naftogaz had growth before the war: since the end of last year, we reversed the trend and began to increase production. Because of the war, it began to fall by 3-4-5%. We predict that there will be a decline of 3-6% over the year, but with current trends, this is definitely not even 10%," Vitrenko said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

Speaking at the WEF, Yulia Kiryanova, the CEO of Smart-Holding, said that the company's production fell by 22% due to the war, and predicted that in general, production in Ukraine this year would drop to 16 billion cubic meters compared to 19.8 billion cubic meters in 2021.

According to Vitrenko, some private companies suspended production at the beginning of the war, then brought it to the pre-war level, but now they complain about the lack of exports, arguing that this will lead to a decrease in production.

At the same time, the head of Naftogaz said that he sees no reason for private companies to reduce production volumes, despite the fact that gas exports are now closed.

"We, as a big player in this market, understand that the price that is on it, in particular, at which we buy gas from private companies is higher than the largest royalty and all production costs that may be," Vitrenko said.

"Therefore, there is no reason for private companies to cut production, but vice versa. I'm not talking about patriotism, because taxes on gas production are very important for the country, as well as energy independence," the head of Naftogaz stressed.