TRIPOLI- The CEO of Sonatrach, Toufik Hakkar declared, Thursday from Tripoli (Libya), that the volume of investments of the national company in terms of exploration in Libya will soon be around 200 million dollars, against 150 million dollars currently. .
“Sonatrach respects its contracts in Libya, contracts through which we want to complete our contractual commitments and examine ways to develop the fields explored as soon as possible,” Hakkar said during a lively press conference. together with the chairman of the board of directors of the National oil corporation (Noc), Mustafa Sanalla, after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two parties.
This meeting enabled the two parties to prepare the first stages of Sonatrach’s return to Libya as well as the continuation of its exploration operations.
“This opportunity made it possible to review the capacities and expertise of the subsidiaries under Sonatrach in terms of oil services in all stages of oil operations, namely geophysics, exploration, drilling of wells, maintenance, construction, facilities and skills training,” he added.
Sonatrach’s capacities were presented to representatives of the Libyan partner, with a view to the group’s contribution to the return of Libyan production capacities to their usual level, according to Mr. Hakkar who underlined the need for a return “as soon as possible “especially as global demand for oil and natural gas is on the rise,” he said.
Sonatrach and the National oil corporation can play an “active role” in stabilizing the international gas market, said the CEO of the Algerian group, stressing that the two parties are working to meet market demands, including at the level of Europe.
For his part, Mr. Sanalla indicated that several detailed questions on the return of Sonatrach to its exploration sector in the Ghadames basin were discussed during the meeting which also focused, he said, on the ways to develop relations between the two parties and start production, particularly given the many assets of the Hamada region and in light of the growing global demand for energy, especially gas.
The meeting also discussed the contribution of Sonatrach subsidiaries in the maintenance, reactivation of pipelines, construction of reservoirs and drilling of wells, the Libyan official said.
The representatives of the two companies particularly insisted on the geophysical studies, the maintenance of the drilling machines, the technological works and the training provided by the Algerian Petroleum Institute for the benefit of the Libyan side, he specified.
