Royal Dutch Shell has completed drilling its first gas exploration well in Ukraine, the company's top representative said Friday.

"The preliminary results obtained by our company allow us to hope that the drilling was successful," Graham Tiley, general manager of Shell Ukraine Exploration and Production LCC, told reporters here.

It will take up to a year to fully analyze the results of the drilling and evaluate the productivity of the reservoir, Tiley added.

Shell, which is developing shale gas deposits in the Yuzovska field in eastern Ukraine, plans to drill 15 wells as part of a 50- year joint venture with local Ukrgazvydobuvannya company.

Kiev expects the project, involving around 10 billion US dollars in investment, to open up large new unconventional gas reserves that will give a great boost to its campaign for energy independence.

Local experts estimated that Shell's development area could produce up to 11 billion cubic meters of gas annually, which amounts to around 20 percent of Ukraine's consumption.

Ukraine is seeking to end reliance on costly Russian gas imports by developing its shale gas deposits which are believed to be one of Europe's largest. Preliminary data put estimated reserves at more than 1.2 trillion cubic meters.