"First time over 15 years of our independence, a leading world company, Shell, sets foot on the soil of Ukraine..."
Shell Exploration has entered into an agreement with Ukrainian state oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy's subsidiary, Ukrgazdobycha, to produce oil and gas at the fields of Dnepr and Donetsk basin.
Ukrgazdobycha's General Director Ilya Rybchich and Shell Exploration Vice President Rien Herber sealed an oil and gas cooperation agreement in The Hague Thursday, June 8, 2006.
In Ukrainian government hopes this cooperation will reduce dependency on Russia.
?First time over 15 years of our independence, a leading world company, Shell, sets foot on the soil of Ukraine,? Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, who attended the signing, said emphasizing the negotiations lasted for eight years.
The analysts are not so optimistic, as the field offered to Shell may annually yield no more than 1 million tons of oil or 5 billion cu meters of gas, all of the amount to be sold in Ukraine. Besides, Shell is known for setting stakes worldwide, but it may get down to the actual production in Ukraine only in the distant future.
