New discovery at the El Assel area in Algeria

Production tests on the well, drilled to a depth of 4,100 metres, yielded light crude oil flows of 8.5 cubic metres per hour and 7,930 cubic metres of gas per hour.

Gazprom International, which operates the El Assel project, began drilling the RSHN-1 well at the beginning of June 2014. This is the fifth exploratory well constructed as part of its minimal contractual obligations during the exploration period.

During previous exploration work at the site, and following the drilling of the RSH-2 and ZERN-1 exploratory wells, the Sonatrach–Gazprom association discovered two new fields.

Delineation of these fields is currently underway.

Gazprom International, the sole specialised operator of Gazprom's foreign hydrocarbon prospecting, exploration and development projects, acquired a 49% stake in the El Assel project in the Berkine geological basin in the eastern part of the Algerian Sahara in early 2009. The company is conducting exploration work as part of this project in partnership with Algeria's state oil and gas corporation Sonatrach, which holds a 51% stake.

As part of the exploration programme, a considerable amount of 2D and 3D seismic acquisition has been completed and the data has been processed and interpreted along with seismic data from previous years. Five exploratory and appraisal wells have also been constructed.