National Oil Corporation (NOC) chairman, Eng. Mustafa Sanalla, met with the CEO of Italian oil major Eni, Claudio Descalzi, at NOC headquarters on November 3, 2018, to discuss ongoing in-country operations, including plans for the seven remaining wells at the offshore Bahr Essalam Phase 2 project - expected to complete by the end of 2018.
The parties discussed opportunities to increase production, investment and exploration, and the importance of sustainability in all activities. The compression capacity upgrade project at the Wafa plant was also reviewed, with the first gas expected to come on stream in the next few days; a successful joint project in challenging conditions in Libya’s remote interior.
Eni’s CEO Mr Descalzi emphasized the strong relations between the two companies, highlighting the commencement of logistics operations necessary to re-establish exploration activities, as identified in the recently announced joint NOC, Eni and BP Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA).
Discussions also focused on the development of maritime sites adjacent to existing EPSA areas and ways to enhance cooperation to increase production capacity at existing fields. Plans and operational procedures in preparation for the tender of the development of offshore sites ‘A’ and ‘E’ were also deliberated.
“Eni is one of our significant partners, which has always supported NOC. This visit and our recent joint activities are a clear sign of the company’s ambitions for its Libyan operations. This will encourage further investment in the Libyan oil sector and provide additional opportunities to upskill and capacity build Libya’s next generation of oil sector workers.
“Our disclosure and adherence to the principle of transparency is an important facet of our collaborative approach to all projects. Our collaboration with Eni and revived EPSA agreement provides a promising opportunity to revive the Libyan economy and provide a decent standard of living for the Libyan people. Together with our partners, NOC will work to all ends to increase production to its highest levels,” exclaimed Mr Sanalla.
The meeting was also attended by NOC Board of Directors Eng. Abulgasem Shengheer and Mr Elamari M Elamari; in addition to a number of NOC general managers and managers. The Eni CEO was accompanied by the company’s Operations Executive Director, Mr Antonio Villa, Eni General Director, Mr Abdel Moneim Al-Arifi, as well as a number of consultants and experts of the company.
This meeting marks the first visit of the head of a major company to the headquarters of the National Oil Corporation following the recent terrorist attack targeting NOC’s head office.
(Source: NOC)
