MOSCOW, June 13 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom's [RTS: GAZP] will exceed its 2006 output plan of 548 billion cubic meters of natural gas by 13%, a deputy chairman of the board said Tuesday.
Alexander Ananenkov said the Russian energy giant would produce 620 billion cu m in 2006 thanks to units commissioned in 2002 that now produce 200 billion cu m.
He added Gazprom would above all proceed from market demand.
"Gazprom is oriented to market demand because everything depends on consumption," Ananenkov said, adding that the concern's resource base meant it could produce 900 billion cu m.
Ananenkov said Gazprom had produced 547.9 billion cu m in 2005, or 2.8 billion more than in 2004, and increased its gas deposits by 3.1 trillion cu m from 26 trillion cu m in 2004.
Gazprom's production levels aroused concerns in late May after Claude Mandil, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, said studies had revealed that the Russian company was investing too little to ensure supplies over the next few years, which he said could cause a possible shortfall in the future.
