The president of the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC), Mustafa Sanalla, the CEO of BP, Bob Dudley, and the CEO of Eni, Claudio Descalzi, signed a letter of intent ("LOI") today in London. which starts the process of assigning to Eni a 42,5% stake in BP's Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement ("EPSA") in Libya, with the aim of relaunching exploration and development activities and promoting conducive to investment in the country.
The LOI also strengthens the parties' commitment to contribute to the country's social development through the implementation of social initiatives, including specific education and technical training programs.
The agreement aims to start a process of assigning to Eni a share of 42,5% in the contract areas A and B (onshore) and C (offshore) of Libya, with Eni operator, a role currently played by BP.
BP has an 85% stake in each block, while the Libyan Investment Authority holds the remaining 15%. The intent of the parties is to finalize and execute all necessary agreements by the end of the year to start exploration activities in 2019.
"Today's this is an important milestone that will give the opportunity to free Libya's exploration potential by restarting the EPSA operations suspended since 2014. Furthermore, it contributes to creating an attractive environment for investments, aimed at restoring production levels and the country's hydrocarbon reserves through existing infrastructures in Libya, ”said Eni's CEO Claudio Descalzi.
“This agreement is a clear signal and market recognition of the opportunities Libya offers and will strengthen our manufacturing outlook. The guarantee of social development deriving from the agreement is an important sign of our common commitment towards our collaborators and the communities in the territories where we operate. We are confident that this initiative will lead to further investment in the country and facilitate an increase in production levels, ”said NOC President Mustafa Sanalla.
«This is an important step towards our return to work in Libya. We believe that working closely with Eni and Libya will allow us to anticipate the restart of exploration in these promising areas, ”said BP CEO Bob Dudley.
EPSA's future production will benefit from the important synergies with the existing Eni-NOC infrastructures and from the contribution of Mellitah Oil & Gas (MOG), applying Eni's fast-track model to accelerate production. This will further help NOC meet national energy needs and promote the development of the country's skills through training and social investment.
This operation will strengthen the strategic partnership between the parties in the long term.
