KYIV, Nov 22 - Ukraine seeks to ship in up to 150 billion cubic meters of natural gas through its gas transit system every year, Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr Kistion said.

The plan calls for major acceleration of gas shipments as Ukraine has moved about 70 Bcm of gas over the past two years.

"The capacity of the Ukrainian gas transit system to meet the needs of consumers in the European Union is up to 150 billion cubic meters per year. This figure may be strange to someone, but I want to draw your attention to the fact that until 2050 the demand for natural gas in Europe will be consistently high," he said at a government meeting in Kyiv on Wednesday, while presenting the country's gas sector development strategy.