Naftogaz says it launches 'powerful' gas well in Ukraine

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian state-owned energy company Naftogaz, which is trying to cover Ukrainian needs with domestic production, has launched one more "powerful" new gas well in eastern Ukraine, the company said on Monday.

Ukraine, which has not imported natural gas directly from Russia since 2015, buys gas from the European Union and says it is focusing on domestic production.

"Our goal is to produce at least 1 million cubic metres of gas per day at this field," the company said in a statement.

Naftogaz has not disclosed the location of the well, but most of Ukraine's gas fields are in the Kharkiv and Poltava regions.

The company said five more new wells are planned at this field "to unlock the identified gas production potential in full".

The company said last month it launched a new well with a depth of 5,800 metres which can produce around 0.6 million cubic metres per day.

Naftogaz is Ukraine's largest gas producer, with output of 12.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2022.

It has said Ukraine plans to increase its natural gas output by more than 5% in 2023 to 19 bcm despite the Russian invasion.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; editing by Jason Neely)