PRESS: Russia’s Rosneft seeks to quit Algerian oil block project

MOSCOW, Jan 9 (PRIME) -- Russian oil major Rosneft is considering selling its stake in a project to develop the 245-South oil block in Algeria, Kommersant business daily reported Monday citing sources.

Rosneft-Stroytransgaz, where Rosneft holds 50%, owns 60% in the project to develop the block, while Algeria’s Sonatrach has the remaining 40%. The block comprises three fields: the West-Takuazet, East-Takuazet, and North Tisselit with resources estimated at 70 million tonnes.

Rosneft doubts that the project to develop the block has prospects and seeks to avoid further spending on it, the sources said. The company has been searching options to sell the stake for several years already and has offered it to gas giant Gazprom, which is carrying out geological exploration works at the El Assel block with Sonatrach.

Rosneft will likely face a write-off of several hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars of investments and will have to pay a fine to the Algerian side if quits the project, Kommersant said.

End