A statement by the Algerian group said, “Today, Sonatrach and the National Oil Corporation (Libya) signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen their partnership in the oil and gas sector. The memorandum aims to resume Sonatrach’s activity in Libya in order to complete its contractual obligations and start developing the discovered fields.”
Sonatrach CEO Tawfiq Hakkar confirmed in statements he made in Tripoli and published by the Libyan Foundation on its Facebook page that the Algerian oil giant had previously “invested 150 million dollars and intends to invest another 50 million dollars (…) in three exploration plots” in Ghadames near the border. Libyan Algerian.
He added, “There are reserves of gas and oil, and there is a demand in Europe for them, and we will work to exploit them to meet this demand.”
For his part, the Executive Director of the Libyan National Oil Corporation, Mustafa Sanalla, confirmed that “the declared gas reserves in Libya amount to 55 trillion cubic meters, and the figure can reach double by calculating the reserves at sea.”
“Libya can play a pivotal role in meeting the demand for gas in southern Europe,” he added.
According to a statement by the Libyan National Oil Corporation, the agreement also included “reforming infrastructure and oil transmission lines, and rehabilitating and building reservoirs.”
Sonatrach left Libya in 2011, like many international oil companies, after the deterioration of the security situation and the fall of the Muammar Gaddafi regime.
Hakkar had spoken at the beginning of January about a soon return to Libya because Sonatrach had made “important investments in the field of oil and gas exploration” in the aforementioned country, and “we will not leave these explorations without development.”