LONDON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - UK oil explorer Cairn Energy Plc (CNE.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said a well it sank in Bangladesh was to be plugged and abandoned after it failed to hit commercial gas reserves, confirming a Reuters report from Dec. 31 and hitting its shares.

Cairn shares traded down 1.5 percent at 2,903 pence at 0903 GMT.

Investors and the Bangladeshi government had high hopes for the $117 million project exploring the Magnama structure in the Bay of Bengal.

But earlier this week, Jalal Ahmed, chairman of the state-run Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation, or Petrobangla, said Cairn had failed to discover commercially viable gas with the Mangama well.

His comments have weighed on Cairn shares in recent days.

Cairn said drilling was expected to commence soon on the nearby Hatia-1 prospect. (Reporting by Tom Bergin and Ana Nicolaci da Costa; Editing by David Cowell)