French oil services company Technip has signed a preliminary deal worth US$500 million to refurbish a key Libyan offshore oil platform in partnership with Libya's National Oil Company (NOC) and Italian Eni, Reuters reported.
The drilling platform lies in the offshore Bahr Essalam oil field, 100 kilometers from the capital Tripoli. The platform is operated by Mellitah Oil and Gas, a joint venture between Libya's NOC and Eni.
According to Technip, installation is scheduled for the second half of 2017 through to the second half of 2018 and they are targeting 12.6 million barrels per day in production.
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In March, Mellitah Oil and Gas announced what they called a significant discovery at Bahr Essalam, with a well producing 29 million cubic feet per day of gas and over 600 barrels per day of condensate in testing. The company said the well could eventually produce over 50 million cubic feet of gas per day and 1,000 barrels of condensate per day.
The deal is being lauded as part of French efforts to support the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), which controls the Tripoli-based National Oil Company (NOC).
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On Sunday and Monday, Libya's Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), loyal to the GNA, said it had captured of the two strategic towns from ISIS.
Earlier this month, the Tripoli-based Libyan government announced the resumption of exports from the eastern port of Hariga, which has been under the control of the parallel eastern government based in Tobruk.
By James Burgess of Oilprice.com
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