The FINANCIAL — TRIPOLI -(Dow Jones)- Eni SpA's (E) Libyan crude production could reach 140,000 barrels a day by the end of November, but the absence of foreign oil contractors is delaying the North African country's oil and gas comeback, the head of an Eni SpA's (E) joint-venture said Monday.
Eni's natural gas exports through the GreenStream pipeline to Italy are now set to resume mid-November, instead of an initial target for mid-October, said Najmi Karim, chairman of Mellitah Oil and Gas BV.
Eni Monday announced the restart of its Abu-Attifel field. Karim said Eni's Libyan oil production should reach 140,000 barrels a day by the end of November, following the resumption of the Wafa and Abu-Attifel fields this month and the expected start up of the Bouri facility in November.
But oil and gas ramp up at the Wafa field–which supplies the pipeline–was hindered because "some [foreign] contractors are having difficulty to mobilize equipment and personnel," Karim said.
Karim also said Libya could return to production of 600,000 barrels of oil equivalent by the end of the year, though that depended of the resumption of Elephant–also known as El-Fil–field. The status of "Elephant" is unclear, he added.
Karim said the company Monday had sent a team to assess the Elephant field, which accounts for 25% of the company's Libyan output.
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