Bloomberg: Ukraine Crisis Forces Shell to Halt Shale Wells in Restive East
Royal Dutch Shell Plc has halted drilling for shale gas in eastern Ukraine to protect its personnel from clashes between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army.
Shell is taking a “time-out” on exploration work after drilling two wells since the Hague-based explorer signed a production-sharing agreement last year, Chief Financial Officer Simon Henry said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in London.
Europe’s largest oil company has an exploration license for the 8,000-square-kilometer (3,100-square-mile) Yuzivska field in the eastern provinces where hundreds of people have died as armed separatists try to split from Ukraine and join Russia. The company’s operations are more exposed that those of Chevron Corp, which is exploring the Oleska field in western Ukraine.