Eni to Acquire Half of BP's Libya Oil and Gas Assets

By Ahmad Ghaddar and Ron Bousso
Monday, October 8, 2018

Italy's Eni has agreed to buy half of BP's 85 percent stake in a Libyan oil and gas licence with the aim of resuming exploration next year, the companies said on Monday.

Eni will acquire the 42.5 percent stake and become the operator of the exploration and production sharing agreement (EPSA) in Libya, in which the Libyan Investment Authority holds the remaining 15 percent, the companies said in a statement.

The companies, along with state-owned National Oil Corp (NOC), signed a letter of intent in London on Monday paving the way for the final deal. They did not disclose financial terms of the transaction.

NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla said the agreement showed renewed confidence in the war-torn country's oil and gas sector.

"This agreement is a clear signal and recognition by the market of the opportunities Libya has to offer and will only serve to strengthen our production outlook," he said.

BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley hailed the deal as an important step "towards returning to our work in Libya".

"We believe that working closely together with Eni and with Libya will allow us to bring forward restarting exploration in these promising areas," he said in the statement.

The resumption of exploration would help boost Libya's oil and gas output which fell sharply in the years following a civil war that started in 2011, Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said.

Libya is producing around 1.25 million barrels of oil per day (bopd), still below its pre-civil war capacity of 1.6 million bpd.

BP does not produce any oil or gas in Libya. It signed the EPSA agreement in 2007 to explore onshore in the Ghadames basin and offshore in the Sirte basin.

Its exploration programme was interrupted in 2011 when the civil war broke out and remains under force majeure. In 2015, the company wrote off $432 million from its Libyan activities.

Eni, which has been operating in Libya since 1959, is currently active in six contract areas in Libya and its production in 2017 reached a record 384,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The EPSA includes two onshore areas in the Ghadames basin and one in the offshore Sirte basin, covering a total area of around 54,000 square kilometres.


(Additional reporting by Stephen Jewkes in Milan; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Mark Potter)

Categories: Africa Oil Gas Energy Industry News

Related Stories

Centrica and Thailand’s PTT Ink Long-Term LNG Supply Deal

Japan Protests China’s New Oil and Gas Construction Activities in East China Sea

Woodside and Jera Agree LNG Cargoes Supply for Japan’s Winter Period

Yinson Production, “K” LINE Target Europe's CCS with FSIU and LCO2 Solutions

Yinson Production Closes $1B Investment to Drive Further Growth

Fugro Expands Geotechnical Testing Capabilities in Indonesia

UK Firm Secures Exploration Extension for Two Blocks off Vietnam

CNOOC Starts Production at Offshore Field in South China Sea

Aker Solutions, PTAS JV Hooks Brownfield Services Extension off Brunei

BP Expands Oil and Gas Scope in Azerbaijan with New Projects and Exploration Rights

Current News

Centrica and Thailand’s PTT Ink Long-Term LNG Supply Deal

Petrovietnam, Partners Sign PSC for Block Off Vietnam

Japan Protests China’s New Oil and Gas Construction Activities in East China Sea

CNOOC Signs Hydrocarbons Exploration and Production Deal with Kazakhstan

Thailand's PTT to Buy LNG from Glenfarne's Alaska LNG Project

Woodside and Jera Agree LNG Cargoes Supply for Japan’s Winter Period

Petronas Expands Suriname Portfolio with Deepwater Block Acquisition

Japanese Oil and Gas Firm Enters Two Blocks off Malaysia

Yinson Production, “K” LINE Target Europe's CCS with FSIU and LCO2 Solutions

Woodside Agrees Long-Term LNG Supply with Petronas Unit

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com