YALTA, Oct. 8 - Crimea's Chornomornaftogaz (Black Sea Oil & Gas) could sell gas that it produces on the Black Sea shelf to Ukraine, once production has been ramped up by a planned 20%, the breakaway republic's fuel and energy minister, Sergei Yegorov, told reporters.

"We'll be selling to Ukraine," Yegorov told a press conference. "Gazprom sells it, why can't we?"

Yegorov also said there were plans to build liquefied gas plants in Crimea. "There are such investment projects," he said, without elaborating.