Gazprom to spend $100 mln on Libyan oil and gas

MOSCOW, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM) said on Monday it will spend around $100 million on developing newly-acquired Libyan hydrocarbon blocs.

On Sunday Gazprom was awarded license permits to explore blocks 1, 2 and 3 in contract area 64 in the Ghadames Basin of the north African oil and gas producing country.

"According to preliminary evaluations the area has reserves of 20 million tonnes of oil," Gazprom said in a statement. The Libyan government said the fields were gas-prone.

Algeria's Sonatrach, Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and Poland's PGNiG PGNI.WA were also awarded permits for seven more blocks in the tender.

Libya had offered a total of 41 onshore and offshore blocks.

The North African country wants to become a major gas producer and aims to increase output to three billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) by 2010, with a potential for 3.8 bcfd by 2015, compared with 2.7 bcfd now. (Reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman; editing by James Jukwey)