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Repsol discovers major Libyan oilfield
AFP
MADRID
Petroleumworld.com 02 28 06
Spanish-Argentine oil producer Repsol YPF said on Tuesday it had discovered a major oil field in Libya with capacity of 474 million barrels, and had sought permission from the Libyan authorities to develop the resource.
Noting that North Africa was one of its "most profitable areas", Repsol said the field in the central southern Murzuq basin had 1.261 billion barrels of "oil in place" and its development would make the company the "main private oil-producing company in Libya".
Repsol said the "mega-field" was the biggest in the company's history and "will allow Repsol to double its production and rserves" in Libya.
The company is present in the North African state through Repsol Oil Operations, a joint venture between Repsol and the National Oil Corporation of Libya (NOC). An offshoot, Repsol Exploracion Murzuq, is helping to draw up a plan for commercial development of the site over 25 years.
Repsol said that development of the megafield, which includes the NC186 and NC115 blocks, would help to "guarantee sustained growth for the coming 15 years".
The company said it was producing about 250,000 barrels of crude a day in Libya and company chairman Antoni Brufau said it intended to open 18 Libyan explorations wells this year and lift production to 450,000 barrels a day by 2010.
Libya said late last year that it intended to raise production of crude to two million barrels a day from a 1.6 million bpd during 2007 rising to three million by 2010.
OPEC figures estimate reserves in Libya at 36 billion barrels but that could mask the true extent of its capacity as only one quarter of its territory is covered by prospection and production accords.
AFP 27 1245 GMT 02 07
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