(MEBG) - With Italy being the Libya’s former colonial riluer, ENI is by far the largest foreign oil company operating in the. It presence there dates back to 1959, andit today accounts for approximately for13 percent of Libya’s oil production.
Exploration and production activities began with Concession 82. In 1966 a second agreement was reached for Concession 100, in an area adjacent to that of Concession 82, in the Bu' Attifel field . Both concessions are in Sirate basin, which lies several hundred km from Bengazi. They becae operational at the end of 1972.
In 1974 Agip concluded an Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA 74) regarding onshore areas and other areas offshore Tripoli. In 1988 the Bouri field , offshore Tripoli, was discovered and became operational .
Oil & Gas Exploration
ENI’s principal interests are located in two areas–onshore Bu’Attifel where ENI has a 50 percent stake and offshore Bouri field where it has a 30 percent stake.
At present, ENI Libyan equity production amounts to 80,000 barrels of oil per day, from the Bu' Attifel field, located in the Sirte Basin and from the offshore Bouri field, which is part of the NC41 block–the Bouri field. This block and Waffa field , whichis deep in the Lybian desert near the Tunisian border , are expected to produce about 2.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas by 2004, as well as 13.7 million oil as well as condensates barrels.
Since 1998 the company is exploring Elephant field (NC-174), of which it holds a third The field is estimated to have reserves of about 50 million barrels.
ENI is also active – with Libya’s National Oil Company ( N.O.C )– in developing onshore Wafa field, and the offshore NC41 field. An agreement was signed and ENI. is expected to extract 10 billion bcm per year of gas from both fields; of which eight billion will be exported to Italy. The gas will be delivered through pipeline running between Libya and Sicily, which will become operational in 2003 (see below).
In 1997 an important oil discovery was made in the NC-174 area of the Murzuk basin, in the southwest Libyan desert , by a joint venture in which ENI holds a 33.33 percent share, through its subsidiary Agip North Africa B.V. It is expected that production will reach 87,000 bpd. by 2003.
ENI has increased its reserves in Libya as a result of the successful appraisal of the F2-NC174 well in the Elephant reservoir located in the southwestern part of the country. This well was drilled 3.5 km south of the F1-NC174 well in the Murzuk basin and yielded 9,000 bpd of oil.
The Natural Gas Project
On July 1999 ENI, through its affiliate Agip North Africa B.V., reached final agreements with N.C.O., for the implementation of a project for the development of gas, condensates and oil reserves in offshore block NC41 ( Bouri field) and onshore block NC 169–Waffa field. First production is expected in late 2003. Agip Gas B.V., another ENI affiliate, will be the operator.
The project was defined in its main parts:
- The offshore C structure of the NC41 block, located 110 km north of Tripoli, will be developed in 180 meters of water by means of a fixed drilling and production platform, as well as by submarine clusters. Sealines will transport gas and condensates onshore to the gas processing plant in Melitah, on the Libyan coast.
- The onshore Wafa infrastructures located 550 km southwest of Tripoli will be connected to the Melitah plant by means gas and liquid pipelines. Previously discovered oil and gas reserves along the route of these pipelines will be easily connected to them.
- The Melitah gas-processing center, placed midway between Sabratha and Zuara, will treat gas and condensates, which will be used for domestic consumption as well as for export. The 600 km export sealine and its compressor station will be used to transport the gas from the Libyan coast to Sicily.
In February 2000 ENI, through Agip North Africa, signed a contract to supply 4 billion cubic meters per year of Libyan natural gas to Edison Gas. According to this contract, which covers a 24 year period beginning July 2002, Edison Gas acquires 50 percent of the natural gas produced for the Italian market by Agip North Africa and N.O.C., from offshore and onshore concessions in Libya. The gas will be transported through a sealine that is currently in the planning stages and will be built and managed by a joint company in which Agip North Africa and N.O.C. will hold a 75 percent and 25 percent share respectively
Engineering and Oilfield Services
In the engineering and oilfield services sectors, Snamprogetti and Saipem carried out several projects including the refineries of Azzawiya and Ras Lanuf, the Marsa El Brega ammonia plant, the Marsa El Brega LNG Plant and the Bu' Attifel NGL recovery plant, as well as the offshore platforms for the Bouri field development. In addition, Saipem performed offshore drilling activities in Libya.
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
