The Russian oil and gas company, Tatneft, has returned to Libya after an absence of about 10 years.
Tatneft has begun to resume production and exploration work in a number of sites in Libya, after its operations had stopped following the events of the 2011 February Revolution in the North African country.
Tatneft’s Board of Directors’ Chairman, Rustam Minikhanov, told the TASS news agency that the company is studying the resumption of work in 4 exploration blocks in Libya.
Minikhanov added that Tatneft also intends to resume exploration in Damascus, Syria. The Russian company expected that the total production from its projects will reach 50 million tons worldwide. At the same time, the company is also considering entering into other exploration projects, including in Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
It is noteworthy that Tatneft had obtained in 2005 a concession to develop a field in the western Libyan city of Ghadames. Military tensions in the country led to all exploration work to stop in March 2011 and the company’s employees were then evacuated from Libya.