StatoilHydro surplus gas sold to liquid EU markets

OSLO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Norwegian oil and gas producer StatoilHydro (STL.OL) said on Monday it would sell its surplus natural gas, not contracted in long-term supply deals, to "liquid markets" in Britain and elsewhere in Europe.

StatoilHydro is the second largest gas supplier to the European Union following Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM), whose exports to European markets have dropped off in past days due to a dispute with transit state Ukraine.

"We are already mostly producing at full capacity and selling most of volumes under long-term contracts," spokeswoman Rannveig Stangeland told Reuters.

"Additional volumes beyond our long-term commitments would typically be sold to liquid markets on the continent and the UK," she said. "We have close dialog with our customers and we are delivering according to our obligations."

(Reporting by Wojciech Moskwa)