By Pavel Polityuk and Tom Bergin
KIEV/LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - Commercial deals concludedby Ukraine during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovich arealready coming under scrutiny, less than two weeks since he wasdeposed, with lucrative gas projects involving Western companiesamong the first.
Since Yanukovich fled after three months of street proteststhat claimed nearly 100 lives, the new authorities in Kiev arelooking for any evidence that he arranged deals to benefitpeople close to him. The acting prosecutor general has said hewould review Yanukovich-era contracts for evidence of corruptpractices.
Some Ukrainian parliamentarians have called for the newgovernment to examine how, without significant financial outlay,a small Kiev-based consultancy received interests in shale gasprojects led by Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Members of parliament say they have no evidence ofwrongdoing, but they want to understand how geologicalconsultancy SPK-GeoService, founded by three former employees ofstate oil and gas company Naftogaz, was awarded 10 percentstakes in two shale deposits - Yuzivska and Olesska - owned byanother state oil and gas group, Nadra Ukrayny, in return forhelping to bring the fields onstream.
Shell and Chevron came in to the ventures in 2013, promisingto spend hundreds of millions of dollars on exploration inreturn for their stakes.
Sergiy Stovba, research director at GeoService, denied theconsultancy had received an excessively generous deal or anyconnection between the firm and Yanukovich.
"Let them check us, even 10,000 times ... We are anabsolutely transparent company, and we have won the whollytransparent tender in an absolutely honest way," he said.
Stovba said the consultancy contributes to administrativecosts of the limited liability partnerships set up to hold theextraction rights but added "it is not big money".
The State Geological Service, which awarded the contracts,did not respond to requests for comment, but in 2012 published astatement saying GeoService was qualified to win the tenderbecause of the professional expertise of the consultancy.
Stovba and his partners have published many academic paperson geology and provided consultancy to a range of western oilgroups in Ukraine, according to the consultancy's website.
Reuters has seen no evidence that the founders are connectedto the former regime or of impropriety in the tender process.
POSSIBLE DELAYS
Viktor Pynzenyk, a member of parliament with the UkrainianDemocratic Alliance for Reform party, led by former boxer VitalyKlitschko, said the shale gas deals should not be cancelled asUkraine needs them.
"As for the participants of the agreements, it is necessaryto look closely at who they are and then take a decision," saidPynzenyk, a former finance minister, adding that he had noinformation that suggested impropriety in the contracts or alink between GeoService and the Yanukovich family.
Shell said its arrangement was transparent and that it haddone "extensive due diligence" on GeoService.
"Participation of a local investor in such projects is notuncommon," said Michael Megarry, Head of Shell's UK MediaRelations.
Chevron declined comment on GeoService, citing a practice ofnot discussing the commercial terms of transactions.
Andrew Neff, analyst at IHS Global Insight, said anyinvestigation raises questions about whether Shell and Chevron'scontracts would be respected by the new government and that atthe very least a probe would likely delay the projects.
