Ukrgazvydobuvannya plans to boost drilling 50% 2023 - company head

MOSCOW. Feb 7 (Interfax) - Ukrgazvydobuvannya plans to increase drilling 50% in 2023 compared to last year to 300,000 meters, said Oleg Tolmachev, the company's acting general director.

"We plan to drill more than 300,000 meters of wells, which is 50% more than in 2022. We are doing all we can to increase Ukrainian gas production," Ukrainian media quoted him as saying on ICTV Facts.

Andrei Okhotnikov, director of the Shebelinkagazvydobuvannya gas production directorate, said gas production by directorate in January this year was higher than in January 2022. "We have managed to increase gas production since the beginning of 2023" he said.

Ukraine's Naftogaz of Ukraine is planning to increase gas production by 1 billion cubic meters in 2023, its CEO Alexei Chernyshov has said. He said the company's priority was to create sufficient gas stocks for the next heating season in 2023-2024.

Ukrgazvydobuvannya drilled 47 new wells in 2022 and 5o in 2021.

Naftogaz owns 100% of Ukrgazvydobuvannya.