GDF Suez and Sonatrach to develop natural gas field

French utility firm GDF Suez and Algerian gas group Sonatrach, which is state-owned, will commence development of the Touat gas field in south-west Algeria, it was announced today.  Exploration and assessment of the site began in 2003 and work on production is now due to begin later this year, with the aim of commencing output in 2013.  In a joint statement, Sonatrach and GDF Suez called the development, which has been approved by the National Agency for the Exploitation of Hydrocarbon Resources in Algeria, ÔÇ£a major milestone.ÔÇØ The 3000 km2 site is located near the town of Adrar, in south-western Algeria. The country has been a long-term supplier to GDF Suez, which is the largest buyer of SonatrachÔÇÖs liquefied natural gas. The project will include the drilling of around forty production wells over ten fields within the site, as well as the construction of gas collection and processing infrastructure.  Peak production is expected to reach around 4.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year. *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *