Eni Chief Reassures Libyan PM
Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi met Libyan Prime Minister, Fayez Serraj, on June 4 in the capital Tripoli; it was the first visit by the Eni boss to Tripoli since the split of the central government in July 2014.
“It is important to be here in Tripoli to confirm Eni’s commitment to safeguard the continuity of Eni’s Libyan operations and to support the National Oil Corporation (NOC) in its efforts to increase production," said Descalzi.
"Eni has also been cooperating with NOC to sustain the Libyan economy by contributing to increase domestic gas consumption, thus allowing the country to leverage its vast national resources from local power plants, rather than importing alternative fuels. Eni and the NOC still have major oil and gas reserves to develop, in both onshore and offshore areas, and Eni is ready to play a key role as a strategic partner,” he added.
"You can count on us," Eni chief Descalzi tells Libyan PM Sarraj (Photo credit: Eni / Twitter)
Last week Eni contracted Technip as its contractor to develop the southern extension of Libya's offshore Bahr Essalam gas field, a contract worth €500mn-€1bn. Offshore installation is due from 2H 2017 through 2H 2018. Descalzi though admitted in March it was safer to work offshore than onshore Libya. Many oil producers in the country still have operations shut in, and reported Libyan oil production has continued to decline since 2014.
Eni said it was the first firm to resume petroleum operations in Libya in December 2011, following the fall of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and said that it has since made several discoveries. The Bahr Essalam South was one such made in March 2015.
Italy’s foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni on April 12 became the first top western official to visit Tripoli and meet Serraj, since the latter's Government of National Accord was installed on April 1. His visit was followed by visits by his French, UK and German counterparts.
Italian imports of Libyan gas at 7.11bn m3 in 2015 were almost on a par with those from Algeria (7.24bn m3) -- the latter having fallen to roughly one-third of their 2012 levels. Libyan gas reaches Italy via the Greenstream pipeline from Libya's Melitah terminal. But flows have not been without cost: in March 2016 two Italian hostages were killed and two others freed; the four, all employees of Italian contractor Bonatti, were kidnapped by Islamist militants in July 2015 near the Melitah terminal where they had been working.
Mark Smedley