Libya reached its highest daily production since 2013, recording 1.44 million barrels per day (MMbpd) on Sunday, the National Oil Corp (NOC) said.
The milestone brings the North African country closer to its goal of 1.5 MMbpd of crude production by yearend. Under its 2023-27 plan, NOC set a target of 2 MMbpd, as announced by the company March 30, 2023.
“Condensate production also hit 49,163 barrels per day, bringing total daily output to 1,487,723 barrels”, NOC said in an online statement Sunday.
Earlier this month NOC said Mabrouk reached full production at 30,000 bpd under a trial period to rehabilitate the onshore oilfield, located in the town of Sirt on Libya’s north.
“In recent years, the field sustained severe damage and went completely offline, leading many to doubt it could ever restart”, NOC said in a press release June 14.
“This achievement represents more than just a return to production, it also highlights the NOC’s success in carrying out its plans to rehabilitate damaged oil assets and restore their operating capacity. In doing so, it supports the national economy while strengthening the sector’s stability and long-term sustainability”.
Also this month NOC said that with the help of SLB, it had overcome “complex geological challenges” to raise production at well B1-NC2 in the NC2 concession to 4,000 bpd from 300 bpd.
“This achievement, coming 40 years after the well was drilled in 1986, builds on the NOC’s ongoing efforts to raise production levels and maximize existing assets”, NOC said in a media release June 11.
In exploration efforts, NOC earlier this year entered into a memorandum of understanding with Chevron Corp to conduct a “technical study” of an unexplored offshore area.
Block NC146 has “encouraging geological indicators that could lead to significant discoveries”, NOC said in a news release March 26, attributing the statement to its chair, Masoud Suleman.
“[T]his partnership is not merely a technical agreement but rather a message of confidence in the Libyan investment environment and evidence of the return of major companies to work and explore promising opportunities in our country”, NOC said, citing Suleman.
“[P]artnering with a global company the size of Chevron will broaden NOC’s horizons for transferring advanced technology and applying best practices in offshore exploration”, NOC said, citing its chair.
On February 11 Chevron said it had won an onshore block under Libya’s 2025 bidding round, marking its entry into the country. Contract Area 106 is in the Sirt Basin.
“Libya has significant proven oil reserves and a long history of producing its resources”, Chevron vice president for exploration Kevin McLachlan said.