(Corrects to 1 billion cubic metres in paragraph 5)
BRAZZAVILLE, Aug 12 (Reuters) - An oil discovery in Republic
of Congo could produce nearly 1 million barrels of oil per day,
a company involved said on Monday, possibly quadrupling the
nation's output and propelling it into the same league as
Africa's largest producers.
Congo's cash-strapped energy industry has been boosted by
major recent finds from Italy's ENI ENI.MI and France's Total
TOTF.PA , lifting an economy hobbled by debt, civil unrest and
corruption, and raising output to about 350,000 barrels per day.
Production from the new field, developed by SARPD-OIL in la
Cuvette region, could dwarf that, said the company's marketing
director Mohamed Rahmani.
A government spokesman did not immediately comment on the
discovery.
SARPD estimates the field holds 1 billion cubic metres of
hydrocarbons, including 359 million barrels of oil, with a
potential for daily output of 983,000 barrels, Rahmani said.
That, the company reckons, could bring in $10.5 billion a
year into Congo, doubling the Central African country's GDP.
Production, which will be ramped up in phases, could begin
in six months. If it reaches expected levels, Congo's production
would be close to Nigeria, which produces about 1.8 million
barrels a day, and Angola, at around 1.4 million.
Congo has long struggled with towering debt, but the
International Monetary Fund in May agreed a three-year lending
programme after the country restructured its $2 million debt
with China.