Libya's Alfaragh re-enters service

Libya has resumed gas pumping from its largest natural gas deposit, Alfaragh, in a bid to end rolling blackouts that continue to affect the African country.

Tripoli-based National Oil Corp., which began gas extraction from Alfaragh July 23, aims to lift hydrocarbons directly to a new Libyan gas-fired power plant, Electrical Sarir, in order to reduce downtime at the facility. Electrical Sarir will initially produce 220 MW of electricity, but has a nameplate capacity of 440 MW.

The Libyan power plant will help Tripoli secure domestic electricity availability as the OPEC member looks to restore its crude output, after NOC declared a force majeure on crude exports from its oil terminals and ports June 30.

Skirmishes between Libyan militias continue to disrupt the economy, and the country's oil output is often erratic. In May, Tripoli was forced to close most of its production facilities as protesters shut down its three biggest ports, according to Egypt Oil and Gas.

Libyan crude output has since rebounded to around 1mn barrels/day, NOC said, and is likely to reach 1.2mn b/d in coming weeks/months.

Tripoli and TotalEnergies entered a partnership in November 2021  to use flared gas at Libyan gas-fired power stations, in another move likely to reduce national carbon emissions. TotalEnergies will invest in projects to reduce gas flaring at oilfields, both to supply extra gas to power plants and also to boost oil recovery. It will also help deliver a 500MW solar PV plant after signing an MoU with General Electricity Company of Libya.