Resumption of Oil Activities in the Ghadamess Basin: Sonatrach Delegation to Visit Libya
BY: Hana Saada
ALGIERS- Sonatrach, in collaboration with the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC), will engage in negotiations to discuss upcoming projects and reassess the conditions for utilizing border wells on both sides.
Rachid Hachichi, the CEO of Sonatrach, held a phone conversation with Farhat Bengdara, the president of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), to deliberate the terms of this return.
Both parties have agreed to convene a meeting in Tripoli on Tuesday, with the primary objective of formalizing the process of resuming Sonatrach’s contractual obligations in the exploration blocks (065) and (96/95) within the Ghadames basin. Additionally, they will explore avenues to strengthen their partnership.
This initiative follows Sonatrach’s official lifting of the state of force majeure imposed on its assets in the country. It is a response to the repeated calls from Libyan authorities, urging international oil and gas companies to revive their operations in Libya.
Having been a key player in the Libyan oil industry for many years, Sonatrach suspended its oil activities for the first time in 2011. It resumed operations in 2012, only to suspend them once again in 2015. In 2022, Sonatrach and the CNO signed a memorandum of understanding, granting the Algerian company permission to recommence its activities in Libya.
Back in 2005, Sonatrach secured an oil exploration contract in Libya, investing a substantial sum of at least $750 million. Notably, it successfully discovered three sites in April 2009, May 2010, and March 2013. Sonatrach estimates reserves in the Zintan region near the Algerian-Libyan border at around 45 million barrels.
