Algeria, StatoilHydro strike gas in first 08 find

ALGIERS, March 25 (Reuters) - Algeria's state-owned energy group Sonatrach said on Tuesday it had made a gas find, its first hydrocarbon discovery of 2008, in association with Norway's StatoilHydro (STL.OL: Quote, Profile, Research).

The gas was found at bloc 321b in Hassi Mouina perimeter, near Timimoun town more than 800 km (500 miles) southwest of Algiers, and tests showed a flow rate of 2,515 cubic metres of gas per hour, it said in a statement posted on its website.

"This result confirms the gas potential of this perimeter where exploration works carried out since 2006 by the association have allowed to make two discoveries in 2007," the statement said.

Total discoveries in OPEC-member Algeria rose to 20 finds in 2007 from 18 in the previous year, officials say.

Algeria pumps about 1.4 million barrels of oil per day, and exports 62 billion cubic metres of gas a year, mostly to Europe. (Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed, editing by James Jukwey)