Gazprom, Sonatrach reconsider cooperation-Khristenko
MOSCOW, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM) and Algeria's state-owned energy firm Sonatrach could re-ignite a production agreement both sides had previously abandoned, Russia's Energy Minister said on Tuesday.
"Gazprom and Sonatrach are now working on options to swap assets and take part in extracting and transporting gas," Viktor Khristenko told reporters after Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika met with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Bouteflika flew to Moscow on Monday for a two-day state visit with a group of Algerian ministers, including Chakib Khelil, current OPEC president and minister of energy and mines.
A cooperation deal in which the Algerian firm would participate in gas exploration deals in Russia fell apart at the end of last year when both Gazprom and Sonatrach backed out, declining to give a reason.
The proposed partnership further raised a long-held fear in the European Union over potential fixed prices by two of Europe's top gas suppliers.
In addition to Gazprom, Stroitransgaz, Gazprom's main building contractor, could extract at least 3.5 million tonnes of oil per year in Algeria from 2011, Russian media reported Khristenko as saying, adding that the Russian firm acquired deposits in Algeria one week ago.
Both Khelil and Khristenko avoided questions on the possible creation of an OPEC-style gas charter, which would make the informal club of major gas exporters official, a suggestion which market talk and media reports have recently bolstered.
Russia, the world's largest gas exporter, and Iran, Qatar, Venezuela, Nigeria and Algeria have said their annual gas forum aims at increasing cooperation between key producers.
Russian officials have consistently denied any possibility of an "OPEC gas" charter, but experts and analysts believe it could happen in the medium to long-term. (Reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman and Oleg Shchedrov; editing by James Jukwey)
