The German independent Wintershall Aktiengesellschaft (WIAG) has transferred operatorship of Contract Areas 91 (former Concession 96) and 107 (former Concession 97) in the onshore Sirte Basin to Sarir Oil Operations (SOO), a newly established joint operating company with the National Oil Corporation (NOC).
WIAG had operated the fields for close to a year after the signing of two Exploration and Production Sharing Agreements (EPSAs) in December 2019, while SOO was being established and prepared to assume operational responsibility. Now, the vast majority of WIAG’s Libyan personnel has been transferred to SOO and will continue to work in their previous roles.
Oil production in the fields located in Contract Areas 91 and 107 has been suspended since mid-January 2020 due to blockades of the export infrastructure.
Things however are looking up in Libya now; as a peace process goes vigorously underway, oilfield taps are being opened and hydrocarbon production has increased.
“Although the coronavirus pandemic and the conflict in Libya have posed additional significant challenges during the past months”, the company explains in a briefing, “NOC and WIAG are nonetheless convinced that as a result of a comprehensive and diligent transitional process, SOO has successfully been enabled to operate the fields in a reliable manner and in accordance with good oilfield practices”.
