Russian gas giant Gazprom said on Sept. 3 it has signed a cooperation deal on oil and gas exploration in Nigeria. The agreement covers exploration and production of oil and gas plus associated operations in several projects.
A joint Russian-Nigerian company will develop the projects, it added.
Nigeria was until recently Africa's largest oil exporter but militants seeking a greater share of the wealth in the Niger delta region have waged a campaign of attacks and kidnappings, cutting output sharply.
Angola is now counted as Africa's biggest oil producer, ahead of Nigeria, as a result, according to figures from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2008