UPDATE: Algeria wants to cooperate with Gazprom in shale gas production

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GORKI, Moscow Region, Apr 27 (PRIME) -- Algeria plans to cooperate with gas giant Gazprom in production of shale gas, Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal told his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday.

“Gazprom plans to cooperate with us in some fields. We are considering production of shale gas. Algeria is the world’s second or third largest country by reserves of shale gas, and we actually may find a chance to cooperate in this field,” he said.

“We took steps to develop and explore it in the Soviet times, but have not produced it yet.”

As seen by PRIME in documents for the meeting, Gazprom’s subsidiary Gazprom Marketing & Trading and Algeria are discussing a possible swap of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies.

Gazprom has been also implementing an exploration and development project at the El Assel oil and gas field in the country since 2009.

Algeria, an OPEC’s member state, believes that countries must stabilize oil prices, the Algerian prime minister said separately.

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