Ukraine's Naftogaz to buy new drilling rigs with EBRD loan

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine's leading natural gas producer, state-run firm Naftogaz, will receive a 36.4 million euro loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to modernise its drilling equipment, the company said on Monday.

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 loan will be used to purchase new mobile drilling rigs with lifting capacities of 125 and 180 metric tons, the company said in a statement.

"Upgrading our fleet will enable us to operate on deeper and more technically challenging wells, while also making it possible to accelerate the restoration of production at existing sites, ensuring stable gas supply for Ukraine," Naftogaz CEO Serhiy Koretskyi said.

Ukraine has been forced to ramp up gas withdrawals from storage and increase imports this winter and spring after Russian missile attacks damaged production facilities in the east of the country.

The former head of the Ukrainian gas transit operator, Serhiy Makogon, said last month that the country needed to import up to 6.3 billion cubic metres of gas for the 2025/26 winter season as reserves have fallen to a record low.

He said Ukraine would need up to $3 billion for gas purchases.

Naftogaz has said it was in talks with the government and international financial institutions to raise 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to purchase over 2 bcm of gas for the 2025/26 heating season.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)