On Thursday, the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced the restart of the Jikharrah gas processing plant, which has been out of operation since July 2013.
The statement added that the gas plant, which belongs to the Sarir Oil Operations Company, is ready to process 130 million cubic feet of gas per day.
“The gas plant is in good operational condition in terms of equipment, rotary, and mechanical works, after the technical teams of the Sarir Company succeeded in rehabilitating it,” the NOC said.
After the success of the operational trials, gas, and condensate were pumped from the plant to the coastal field of the Sirte Oil Company for Production. In addition to pumping gas to the Zueitina oil port, according to the approved standard specifications.
Last month, NOC announced the resumption of work in the Al-Hakim oil field, after a hiatus of about 7 years.
The NOC said in a statement that the field is expected to produce 3,000 barrels per day before the end of 2023. The Corporation confirmed that production has started in a well, and it will be followed by the operation of the rest wells.
Al-Hakim field belongs to Zueitina Company, a subsidiary of the National Oil Corporation.
Earlier in May, NOC’s Chairman Farhat Bengdara said that they are aiming to boost oil production by about 8%, by December 2023.
“Avoiding field closures and steps like improving oil workers’ pay has already helped boost output by nearly a quarter since January 2022, to 1.2 million barrels a day now,” Bengdara told Bloomberg in an interview.
“North Africa’s biggest producer should be able to pump about 1.3 million barrels a day by the end of the year,” he added.
Bengdara pointed out that $17 billion of investment across 45 projects would allow the NOC to raise production to 2 million barrels a day within five years. He affirmed that the government will offer rights to develop additional fields next year.
He said that the NOC is restarting the natural gas supply from the Mellitah complex after maintenance, adding that flows should remain stable for the next five years.
The NOC has signed a $1.05 billion deal with Italy’s Eni SpA to capture flared natural gas, a project that should start operating in 2025.
“Italy’s Eni SpA and BP Plc are set to start new drilling operations by the end of 2024,” Bengdara revealed.