Oil struck off Gabon by French-Japanese team

By WITH ANALYSIS FROM MONITOR CORRESPONDENTS AROUND THE WORLD; EDITED BY RUTH WALKER

January 9, 1980

Tokyo

A joint French-Japanese oil exploration team has struck oil off the coast of Gabon in West Africa, it was announced Tuesday. The extent of deposits and the quality are still being studied, but the firms involved expect they will be able to start commercial production at the rate of at least 10,000 barrels a day beginning in 1982.