Russ Oil-Gas

10/05/ 2006 MOSCOW, October 5 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom [RTS:GAZP] and Spanish multinational Repsol [YPF] have signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in oil and gas projects, the Russian energy giant said Thursday. Under the document signed by Gazprom chief Alexei Miller and Repsol CEO Antonio Brufau, the companies will investigate possibilities for cooperation in Europe, Latin America and Africa, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production using Russia's resource base, including the Baltic LNG project. Repsol YPF, which operates in more than 30 countries, is one of the world's 10 largest private oil and gas companies, and is the biggest in Spain and Argentina. Gazprom and Repsol will form a coordination committee to see through the document's implementation. Gazprom plans to build an LNG plant on the Baltic Sea coast near St. Petersburg to produce 5 million tons of LNG a year by 2009, and it is looking for a partner with relevant expertise. Italy's Eni and Algeria's Sonatrach are also among Gazprom's possible choices.