KIEV, July 21 - Ukraine will only be able to accumulate 14.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas in its underground gas storage facilities ahead of the winter within international loans, Energy and Coal Industry Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn said Tuesday.

This would be less than what Demchyshyn has earlier this year called a “comfortable level” of 16.6 Bcm needed before the six-month high-demand season begins October 15.

“Without attracting considerable resources from outside, and if only relying on domestic resources, we’ll be able to have somewhere in the neighborhood of 14.5 Bcm,” Demchyshyn said at a press conference.