LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell hasabandoned two natural gas exploration wells in eastern Ukraineafter they were deemed uneconomical, the oil major said onThursday.
Shell and Ukrainian state-run gas company Ukrgasvydobuvannyajointly started exploration at the wells in the province ofKharkiv Oblast in 2012 but after evaluating geological data, thesides decided to drop the project.
"Based on the exploration results, the parties agreed thatfurther activity within the project was not economically viableand agreed to terminate the agreement," Shell said in astatement.
The two wells are being abandoned and the sites' remediationprocess has started, the Anglo-Dutch company added.
Shell's only remaining exploration project in Ukraine is theYuzivska well, which has been under force majeur since thesummer of 2014 due to the conflict in the country. (Reporting by Ron Bousso; editing by Susan Thomas)