(Reuters) -Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz has launched a new natural gas exploration well through subsidiary Ukrgasvydobuvannya with a daily output of 383,000 cubic meters, the company said on Tuesday.
Naftogaz produces the lion’s share of Ukrainian gas, but its production facilities were severely damaged in a series of Russian missile strikes earlier this year, reducing production by as much as 40%.
The company has also signed deals to buy U.S. LNG from Poland’s Orlen, as Ukraine needs to import large volumes of gas ahead of the 2025/26 heating season after Russian shelling left its storage sites almost empty.
“Step by step, we’re building up domestic production and reinforcing Ukraine’s energy resilience,” Naftogaz CEO Sergii Koretskyi said in a statement.
(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka in Gdansk; Editing by Susan Fenton)
