Led by Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, a Gazprom delegation paid a visit to the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

During the visit the delegation took part in the official signing ceremony of a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) between Gazprom and Libyan National Oil Company (NOC) as regards hydrocarbon exploration and development in Block 19 of Libya’s Mediterranean Sea offshore.

Additionally, the Gazprom delegation met with Shokri Ghanem, Chairman of NOC. The parties discussed possible directions for further cooperation including:

• Gazprom’s participation in new competitive tender rounds for hydrocarbon exploration and development under the PSA terms in Libya’s licensed blocks;
• Joint oil and gas projects in Libya;
• Joint natural gas and LNG marketing projects.

Reference:

The fourth-largest in Africa after Algeria, Nigeria and Egypt, Libya’s proved natural gas reserves account for 1.49 tcm. Annual oil and gas extraction rates make up 80.1 mln t and 11.7 bcm, respectively, with 83 per cent consumed domestically and the remaining 17 per cent exported.

Libya is the first African and fifth OPEC (preceded by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE and Iraq) country by the proved reserves of light sweet crude oil (5.1 bln t).

Libyan National Oil Company (NOC) was established in 1970. At present NOC is engaged in hydrocarbon exploration and development in Libya. The company owns a petrochemical compound in Ras Lanuf and a number of refineries.

Based on the results of December 20, 2006 Round 3 of the open competitive tender for the right to explore and produce hydrocarbons based on the PSA terms in Lybia’s licensed blocks, Gazprom was declared the tender winner for Block 19 in the Mediterranean Sea offshore. Block 19 occupies a territory of 10,288 km. Projected investment in geological exploration will account for some USD 200 mln.