Eng. Mustafa Sanalla, Chairman of National Oil Corporation (NOC), met with an Eni delegation led by Eni’s Chief Upstream Officer, Alessandro Puliti, Tripoli (Libya), on January 29, 2020 – to discuss status of current shared projects and the consequences of the current blockades for Libya’s people and hydrocarbon production facilities. Eng. Sanalla thanked Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi for Eni’s concerns and Mr Descalzi’s recommendation to immediately restart production, as expressed in his comments to the media: “For them (the Libyan people) oil production is like oxygen; my recommendation is to restart it”.
NOC and Eni operate together through the Mellitah Oil and Gas (MOG) operating company, which is Libya’s leading producer. Following the declaration of Force Majeure on the Eastern oil fields and terminals, along with the forced closure of transportation pipelines for the Southern oil fields, the MOG-operated Abu Attifel and El Feel fields are currently shut-in. This has caused a loss of gross production of about 155,000 barrels of oil per day of liquids and 145 million standard cubic feet per day of associated gas, with significant loss in revenues at about 9.4 million USD per day.
NOC and Eni agreed that the urgent reopening of the fields is also vital in order to guarantee the continuous integrity and functionality of the fields. Any prolonged stoppages will lead to corrosion and deterioration of equipment, with further effects on production volumes and high associated costs of servicing and replacement.
As for future projects, following the successful completion of Bahr Essalam Phase 2 Project, NOC and Eni are now cooperating to proceed with the FEED activity to develop Structure A&E gas fields at nearby Bar El Salam field. Further development opportunities have been studied in the Bouri offshore field with the aim of improving hydrocarbon recovery. Potential undeveloped oil and gas discoveries in the onshore Ghadames Basin are also being assessed.
NOC and Eni will also study the feasibility of solar plants and wind farms, with both parties agreeing that renewables can meet the demand for more electrical power without increasing local hydrocarbon consumption, while freeing up new gas resources.
