Italian giant Eni is to invest $8 billion in the development of offshore gas sites off Libya, following an agreement with the Libyan National Oil Company (NOC), NOC boss Farhat Bengdara announced.
« Nous sommes parvenus à un accord avec la société Eni pour le développement du secteur pétrolier et gazier, visant deux champs offshore susceptibles de produire 850 millions de mètres cubes de gaz » par jour, a fait savoir M. Bengdara lors d’un entretien télévisé avec la chaîne locale al-Masar.
Sollicitée par l’AFP, l’ENI n’a pas souhaité faire de commentaires. Cet accord « entre la NOC et ENI, sera signé samedi 28 janvier, lors d’une cérémonie officielle, pour l’investissement de 8 milliards de dollars pour le développement de ces deux champs », a-t-il précisé.
A visit by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is scheduled to take place in the next few days in Tripoli, according to Libyan and Italian media.
Nearly 11 years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya, which has the most abundant oil reserves in Africa, remains torn between rival factions in the east and west, against a background of foreign interference.
Since March, two governments have been fighting for power, one in Tripoli (west) and recognised by the UN, the other supported by the parliament and the camp of Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the strongman of the east.
Over the last decade, the Libya has been regularly plagued by violent clashes between rival factions in the east and west, affecting oil production, oil transport and oil terminals, which are caught between the two sides.
In December, the NOC had called on foreign companies active in the hydrocarbon sector to resume their exploration operations and production.
The NOC explained at the time that it had carried out a « évaluation » de la situation sécuritaire et constaté une « amélioration spectaculaire » sur certains sites où il était difficile d’opérer auparavant.
This sector, which is vital to the Libyan economy, needs foreign investment to reach the expected production levels, as Libya wants to increase its oil production to 2 million barrels per day, almost doubling from the current level of 1.2 million b/d.