Shell has left the production sharing agreement (PSA) that was signed earlier for the development of Yuzivska gas bearing site (in Kharkiv and Donetsk regions), Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn has said at a briefing in Kyiv.

"Shell has left this project… Already half a year ago Shell said that this work did not interest it. There was a long procedure for leaving the agreement due to force majeure," he said.

Demchyshyn said that now Nadra Yuzivska LLC has announced a tender for bringing a new investor to the project.

The minister said that this company during the time of its work with Shell accumulated some assets, and therefore it is impractical to eliminate it now, however the authorities will return to this issue after the new tender.

"This tender will be short. If before the end of the year a new investor is not brought in, then Nadra Yuzivska will be liquidated," Demchyshyn said.

The minister said that according to the reached agreements, if a new investor is brought in, SPK-Geoservice LLC will not be a party to the PSA.

As reported, the Ukrainian part of the PSA for the development of Yuzivska and Oleska sites were Nadra Yuzivska LLC and Nadra Oleska LLC, which are joint enterprises of state company Nadra Ukrainy, whose stake in the JVs is 90%, and SPK-Geoservice LLC with a stake of 10%.

Earlier SPK-Geoservice was connected with former President Viktor Yanukovych.