Libya's National Oil Corporation to sign $8bln gas deal with ENI

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
25 Jan 2023 22:59

Libyan NOC says it reached a deal with ENI to develop two offshore sites capable of producing 850 million cubic feet of gas per day.

A Libyan oil worker from Libya's National Oil Corporation checks an oil pipeline at the Zawiya oil installation on August 22, 2013 in Zawiya, Libya. (AFP)

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced on Wednesday that it had reached an $8-billion deal with Italian energy giant ENI to develop offshore hydrocarbon sites.

"We have reached a deal with ENI to develop the oil and gas sector, by developing two offshore sites which together will be able to produce 850 million cubic feet of gas" per day, NOC head Farhat Bengdara told Al-Masar, a Libyan news channel.

Bengdara said the $8 billion deal would be signed on Saturday at an official ceremony.

Italy has been scrambling to find alternatives to Russian energy since the start of the war in Ukraine. According to Italian and Libyan media reports, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is set to visit Tripoli in the coming days.

Libya sits atop Africa's biggest oil reserves but has been engulfed by conflict since the 2011 NATO-backed aggression on the country, resulting in ousting Muammar Gaddafi and later killing him.

Natural resources in Libya

Control of oil resources, infrastructure, and revenues has been a key driver of the long-running conflict, involving multiple foreign powers and militias.

In December, the NOC called on foreign companies in the hydrocarbons sector to resume their activities, pointing out that it had evaluated the security situation and noticed a "spectacular improvement" at certain sites where security issues had made it difficult to operate.

Libya is hoping to boost its oil production to two billion barrels per day, up from around 1.2 currently.