French natural gas distributor Gaz de France SA signed a 20-year supply contract Monday with Algeria's state-owned oil and gas company Sonatrach as part of a larger bid to diversify Europe's energy sources, according to AP. Under the terms of the contract, Sonatrach will supply about 1 billion cubic meters (35 billion cubic feet) of natural gas per year via the new Medgaz pipeline, which will link Algeria to Spain by 2009. Visiting French Finance Minister Thierry Breton and Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil signed the deal in Algiers, amid renewed security concerns in the capital following an attack on foreign employees of an affiliate of U.S. oil services company Halliburton Co. Gaz de France said in a statement that the deal would allow it «to continue diversifying its supply channels and strengthen its position on the European natural gas market, particularly in Spain.»
