Libya positioned as a world leader in hydrocarbons

Energy Capital & Power spoke with Pascal Breant, Country Chair of TotalEnergies, Libya, on the company's role in Libya's upstream sector; operational objectives for key concessions; and a vision for the coming years.

PRESENT IN LIBYA FOR OVER 60 YEARS, HOW HAS TOTALENERGIES CONTRIBUTED TO THE COUNTRY'S SUSTAINABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT? WHAT ROLE DOES LIBYA PLAY IN THE COMPANY'S LARGEST UPSTREAM PORTFOLIO?

TotalEnergies is a long-standing partner of Libya and has been contributing to the development of the country's energy sector for decades through its exploration efforts and its participation in operating companies alongside the National Oil Corporation (NOC). Today, TotalEnergies is active through direct stakes in Libyan joint ventures or production companies representing 600,000 barrels per day, or half of the national production. The company has always focused its contribution on supporting the NOC, providing technical expertise and project management experience, as well as human capacity development.

Libya, as part of the Middle East and North Africa region, has and will continue to hold a strategic position in TotalEnergies' global upstream portfolio. The Libyan energy sector fits perfectly with the company's strategy, as it holds large quantities of oil and gas, and has undeveloped and easily accessible resources. In addition, there is great potential to reduce existing greenhouse gas emissions from the oil fields or to develop new low-carbon projects.

WHAT ARE YOUR OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES FOR THE WAHA CONCESSIONS, THE AL JURF FIELD AND THE EL SHARARA AREA?

The objective we have set ourselves as co-owners with the NOC of these assets is that they should make a lasting contribution to Libya's wealth and economic development. This means firstly operational excellence that goes hand in hand with world class safety records, excellence in day to day operations and systems, but also the development of projects to maximize the ultimate recovery of resources. In addition, and we are working hard in this area, we want to accelerate all possible projects that will reduce existing greenhouse gas emissions from operations and avoid emissions from new projects. The time is now, more than ever.

WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF TOTALENERGIES' PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT WITH NOC IN THE WAHA CONCESSIONS AND WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE KEY OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC-PRIVATE COLLABORATION?

TotalEnergies became the first international partner of Waha's concessions in early 2021, and it is a perfect example of public-private collaboration. We believe this collaboration is about joining forces to maximize the resources of the Waha concessions while reducing the environmental impact of operations. It is of course about sharing TotalEnergies' global experience in operations and project management, but a company like TotalEnergies also has the ambition to become a partner of choice for the NOC in the energy transition of its assets. There is a huge range of possibilities for the Waha fields. For example, we have offered to help Waha Oil Company define the best way to reduce gas consumption for power generation using solar technology.

HOW HAS TOTALENERGIES DEPLOYED NEW AND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES TO INCREASE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND MAXIMIZE HYDROCARBON PRODUCTION?

TotalEnergies has offered to share and deploy its expertise in optimizing operations with Waha Oil Company to increase production levels, as there is a huge potential on the Waha concession base line. Our experts also offer on-call assistance for various troubleshooting operations. We are also ready to provide project management support on the North Gialo miscible gas development project, which is an advanced reservoir engineering scheme, and this falls within TotalEnergies' area of expertise.

IN LIGHT OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT LAST MARCH, HOW WOULD TOTALENERGIES CHARACTERIZE THE EASE OF DOING BUSINESS IN LIBYA?

TotalEnergies has been a partner of Libya for decades and has always supported the National Oil Corporation and the Libyan government authorities, even in difficult times, and will continue to do so. Long-standing partners always find solutions to overcome difficulties and Libya is a country where we have always found a high level of cooperation and a constructive spirit.

EARLIER THIS YEAR, TOTALENERGIES DELIVERED EQUIPMENT TO HOSPITALS THROUGHOUT LIBYA TO COMBAT COVID-19. HOW DID THIS INITIATIVE COME ABOUT AND WHAT OTHER COMMUNITY RELIEF EFFORTS WAS THE COMPANY INVOLVED IN DURING THE PANDEMIC?

TotalEnergies in Libya has always made the health and safety of its employees and communities its priority, being a socially responsible partner and a good neighbor to the Libyan people. Therefore, we have responded and will continue to respond to all calls for solidarity.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and over the past few months, TotalEnergies in Libya has delivered five oxygen production and cylinder filling plants to five hospitals across the country. This was an urgent response as the pandemic developed, with the delivery of medical PPE kits, RT-PCR machines and thousands of test samples, which were delivered to support local communities as well as oilfield workers. TotalEnergies is committed to continuing to be a partner of choice for Libya, in close coordination with the NOC's Sustainable Development Department, for its neighbors in the areas of operation, and more generally for the Libyan population.

WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR TOTALENERGIES' OPERATIONS IN LIBYA IN THE COMING YEARS? WHAT WILL BE THE KEY TO UNLOCKING PRODUCTION TARGETS?

Energy is a source of progress and progress needs energy. The company has embarked on a profound transformation amidst the changes in the global energy landscape. As a multi-energy supplier, we aim to be a partner of choice for Libya in the transformation towards cleaner energy. To this extent, while promoting new projects to increase production in the country to the highest standards in terms of carbon emissions, we also have the ambition to develop solar projects to concretely contribute and accompany the transition to a greener and more reliable power supply for the Libyan people.