NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — Bermuda-based Nabors Industries Ltd., the world's largest onshore oil and natural-gas driller, is close to signing contracts to provide drilling rigs to national energy companies in eastern Europe, chief executive officer Eugene Isenberg said.

"Surprisingly, we are seeing demand for rigs in eastern Europe," Isenberg said in an interview in New York. "A lot of it is state companies. We're on the verge of signing several contracts."

Isenberg declined to name the companies, saying the negotiations were "competitive". The contracts are in euros rather than dollars, he said. "They're willing to pay quality prices for quality products and the prices are higher than we're used to in dollars."

Eastern European countries including Ukraine have been dependent on Russia for natural gas. Russia cut gas deliveries in January 2006 after Ukraine rejected demands from gas-export monopoly OAO Gazprom to quadruple the price it paid. Ukraine depends on imported gas for 71 percent of its needs.

"The European natural-gas market is developing a lot like the US market with a lot of demand and weak supply," said Ben Dell, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in New York.