S.Korea's STX buys oil project stakes from Shell

SEOUL, Dec 25 (Reuters) - South Korea's STX Energy said on Tuesday it would buy stakes in three oil exploratory wells near Faroe Islands and Ireland from Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) for estimated $140 million.

STX Energy, an affiliate of STX Group, said in a statement it would acquire a 10 percent stake in a well off Faroe Islands, an autonomous Danish territory. It would also buy 25 percent stakes each in two other wells off Ireland.

Drilling would start from 2008, STX Energy said.

Energy companies and trading houses in South Korea, the world's fourth-largest crude importer, seek investment in overseas oil projects for exploration access and production rights. (Reporting by Rhee So-eui; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)