KIEV, Sept. 11 - Ukraine and Royal Dutch Shell by the end of the week will sign an operational agreement that will open way for actual drilling for shale gas, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said Wednesday.

Ukraine and Shell signed production sharing agreement (PSA) on January 24, but the operational agreement is needed for the project to actually take off.

Azarov said he will travel to the Netherlands this week to participate in the signing ceremony.