Asia:Gazprom announces first Africa gas discovery

Russia’s largest gas company, Gazprom announced its first African gas discovery in Algeria.
According to Gazprom EP International, company's global exploration and production unit, the RSH2 well in Algeria produced at 2.7 million standard cubic feet, or 75,000 cubic meters, of gas a day.
Gazprom, Russia's state-owned gas export monopoly controls about 30 percent of Europe's gas supplies and has the world's largest gas reserves.
The company plans to drill 18 wells outside Russia next year, mostly in Africa. It plans to drill another well next year in Algeria and start an extensive drilling campaign in Libya in the first quarter of 2011, said Gazprom EP International.
Gazprom will probably spend several hundred million dollars in Africa next year.
Gazprom is evaluating a huge list of potential assets in Nigeria and has held talks with Royal Dutch Shell over possible acquisitions of oil fields in the West African country.
Gazprom, which cannot buy Shell's assets directly under local rules, has held talks with local Nigerian company Equinox.
Gazprom in March began drilling the onshore El Assel field 500 kilometers south of Algeria's capital after winning rights to the area in 2008.
It holds 49 percent of the project with Algeria's state-controlled Sonatrach owning the rest. The company intends to bid for more blocks during the next round.
The Russian gas giant plans to expand cooperation with Namibia and expects to make an investment decision, together with its partners, within 12 months to develop the offshore Kudu gas field.
Gazprom is working with Tullow Oil, a British explorer focusing on Africa, as well as Namcor, Namibia's state-owned oil company, and Japan's Itochu Corp. on the development plan for the Kudu license, which holds about 1 trillion cubic feet of gas resources.