Shell Mulls Ukraine Exit, Meets Gazprom in Milan

While Gazprom and Shell were meeting in Milan on Wednesday, several media reported that Shell might be willing to leave Ukraine, withdrawing from its last exploration well in the Eastern part of the country.

‘We have begun discussions with the Ukrainian government and our partner Nadra Yuzivska LLC on the way forward with the PSA’ Shell wrote on Thursday, explaining that its upstream block in Ukraine has been on hold for nearly a year due to confrontations between pro-Russian militants and Ukrainian soldiers. 

The Anglo-Dutch firm clinched a deal with Kiev in early 2013 to explore the Yuzivska unconventional field. 

On Wednesday, Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive Officer of Shell, met with Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee in Milan.  

‘The parties addressed the prospects for cooperation in the oil and gas sector and the current situation in the European and LNG markets, as well as the status of Sakhalin II and the future collaboration within the project’ Gazprom wrote in the evening.  

The company led by Miller recently said that it is willing to cut off gas transiting Ukraine to western Europe in 2019. Gazprom’s Alexander Medvedev said that European customers will get gas at new delivery points.

Finally, Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko said that local elections in Ukraine will be held in October.