National Oil Corporation

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the Kenyan organization, see National Oil Corporation of Kenya.
National Oil Corporation
المؤسسة الوطنية للنفط
Company type
Brega
Agoco
Sirte Oil Co.
Jowfe Oil Technology
National Drilling Co.
North Africa Geophysical Exploration Company
National Oil Fields and Catering Company
Waha Oil Co.
Zallaf Libya Oil & Gas
WebsiteNOC.ly/index.php/en

The National Oil Corporation (NOC;

Arabic: المؤسسة الوطنية للنفط) is the national oil company of Libya. It dominates Libya's oil industry, along with a number of smaller subsidiaries, which combined account for around 70% the country's oil output.[1] Of NOC's subsidiaries, the largest oil producer is the Waha Oil Company (WOC), followed by the Arabian Gulf Oil Company (Agoco), Zueitina Oil Company (ZOC), and Sirte Oil Company (SOC).[2]

Libyan oil sector: overview

Libya is a member of the

GDP, which was US$50.2 billion in 2006.[4]

History

Early years

Libya has attracted

Production sharing agreements
(PSA) with international oil companies (IOCs) where the latter assumed all risks associated with exploration. In July 1970, further legislation made NOC responsible for marketing all domestic oil products.

Nationalization and the Arab oil embargo

The price of oil during the embargo.

In the 1970s Libya initiated a socialist style nationalization program under which the government either nationalized oil companies or became a participant in their concessions, production and transportation facilities.

Shell's 17 percent share in the Oasis Oil Company. Mobil-Gelsenberg was owned by the NOC (51%), Mobil (32%), and Gelsenberg (17%).[8]
pd.

U.S. sanctions

The last phase of the socialist period was characterized by an intensive effort to build industrial capacity, but falling world oil prices in the early 1980s dramatically reduced government revenues and caused a serious decline in Libya's advantage in terms of energy costs.[9] More importantly, accusations of terrorism and Libya's growing friendship with the Soviet Union led to increased tensions with the West. On 10 March 1982, the U.S. prohibited imports of Libyan crude oil. Exxon and Mobil left their Libyan operations by January 1983. In March 1984, controls were expanded to prohibit exports to the Ras al-Enf petrochemical complex.

President Ronald Reagan imposed sanctions on 7 January 1986 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, prohibiting US companies from any trade or financial dealings with Libya, while freezing Libyan assets in the US.[10] On 30 June 1986, the US Treasury Department forced remaining US oil companies to leave Libya but allowed them to negotiate standstill agreements, retaining ownership for three years while allowing NOC to operate the fields. As a result, Amerada Hess, Conoco, Grace Petroleum, Marathon, and Occidental left a production entitlement that was generating 263,000 bbl/d (41,800 m3/d). Negotiations with NOC and US oil companies over assets dominated much of the late 1980s.

Libya responded by concluding its third Exploration and Production Sharing Arrangements (EPSA-III) in 1988, including agreements with

Montedison, International Petroleum Corporation of Canada, INA-Naftaplin, OMV, Braspetro
and Husky Oil. The agreements included expenditure guarantees by the Libyan government, an important departure from earlier regulations, designed to help offset sanctions.

U.N. sanctions and afterward

Libya's isolation became even more pronounced following the 1992 imposition of United Nations sanctions designed to force Gaddafi to hand over two suspects indicted for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The sanctions, imposed on 31 March 1992, initially banned sales of equipment for refining and transporting oil, but excluded oil production equipment. Sanctions were expanded on 11 November 1993, to include a freeze on Libya's overseas assets, excluding revenue from oil, natural gas, or agricultural products. Under these condition, NOC Chairman Abdallah al-Badri emphasized reducing new projects and upgrading domestic facilities. Joint ventures were initiated with Veba, Petrofina, North African Petroleum, the Petroleum Development Co. (Republic of Korea) and Lasmo. Foreign operators were encouraged to produce exclusively for export, limited to national oil companies with pre-sanctions equity in Libya. This policy was an attempt to contain the amount of crude offered on the spot market through third-party traders, and increase downstream investment. In 2000, NOC was reorganized by the General People's Congress after the Ministry of Energy was abolished, further consolidating control over the sector.

Although U.N. sanctions were suspended in 1999, foreign investment was curtailed due to the U.S.

Assistant Secretary of Commerce William H. Lash announced that Libya had sent its first shipment of crude oil to the US since resumption of ties between the two countries. In May 2006, the U.S. officially removed Libya from its list of states that sponsor terrorism and normalized ties and removed sanctions.[11][12]

Libyan civil war and transition

During the

transitional period.[14] After a period when NOC was split between rival governments in eastern and western Libya, leaders in July 2016 reached an agreement to reunify the company's management.[15] However, on 2 July 2018 they quarreled again.[16]

Operations

The infrastructure of Libya's capital Tripoli has benefited from the country's oil wealth.

On 30 January 2005, Libya held its first round of oil and natural gas exploration leases since the US ended sanctions: 15 areas were offered for auctions. In October 2005, a second bidding round was held under EPSA IV, with 51 companies taking part and nearly $500 million worth of new investment flowing into the country as a result. In December 2006, Libya held its third bidding round; however, PSAs were still being signed by NOC as of April 2007.

Libya has substantial potential for exploration with an average of 16 wells per 10,000-km, whereas similar countries usually average 50 (the world average is 105).[17]

In November 2016, the group chairman, Mustafa Sanalla, announced the group is seeking to boost output to 900,000 barrels a day by the end of 2016 and about 1.1 million barrels next year.[18]

Upstream activities

Oil and gas E&P is carried out by NOC subsidiaries and IOCs licensed by special participation and PSAs. These activities cover wide areas, both onshore and offshore, through Libya's territorial waters and

Greenstream to southeastern Sicily. From Sicily, it flows to the Italian mainland, and then to the rest of Europe. In 2005, additional gas was supplied to the Greenstream pipeline from the Bahr Essalam Field, located in offshore Block NC-41.[19] Development of the Bahr Essalam, Wafa and Bouri Fields, which are part of WLGP, and the natural gas export pipeline represented a shift in Libyan emphasis from oilfield development to a mix of natural gas and oilfield projects. Previously, natural gas exports were limited to LNG.[20]

NOC hopes to increase total oil production from 1.80 mmbd in 2006 to 2 mmbd by 2008. Foreign direct investment into the oil sector is likely, which is attractive due to its low cost of oil recovery, high oil quality, and proximity to European markets.[21]

Field development and exploration

In November 2005, Repsol YPF discovered a significant oil deposit of light, sweet crude in the Murzuq Basin. Industry experts believe the discovery to be one of the biggest made in Libya for several years. Repsol YPF is joined by a consortium of partners including OMV,

Elephant field, onshore in Block NC-174. In October 1997, a consortium led by British company Lasmo, along with Eni and a group of five South Korean companies, announced that it had discovered large recoverable crude reserves 750 kilometres (470 mi) south of Tripoli. Lasmo estimated field production would cost around $1 per barrel. Elephant began production in February 2004. Eni (33.3% equity interest) operated the field for joint-venture partners NOC (33.3%), Korea National Oil Co. (16.67%), SK Corp of Korea (8.33%), Majuko Enterprise, Ltd. of Korea (5%), and Daesung Industrial Co. Ltd. of Korea (3.3%). The field was expected to produce 150,000 bbl/d (24,000 m3/d) when fully operational in 2007.[19]

WOCs Waha fields currently produce around 350,000 bbl/d (56,000 m3/d). On 29 December 2005,

Amerada Hess.[22]

In October 2013, Libya's oil minister Abdelbari Arusi revealed that the NOC was considering buying Marathon's stake in Waha.[23] In December 2019, NOC stated that it had approved France's Total purchase of stakes in the country's Waha concessions.[24]

Downstream activities

Refining

NOC owns and operates several refining facilities, in addition to many oil and

natural gas processing companies. Close to 380,000 bbl/d (60,000 m3/d) of crude is refined by NOCs subsidiaries. Approximately 60% of refined products are exported, primarily to Europe. These are simple hydroskimming refineries, but their products meet market specifications due to high quality crude. As of early June 2007, NOC was evaluating investment proposals for upgrading its Ra's Lanuf refinery
. Total cost of the upgrade is estimated at $2 billion. NOC is also expected to re-tender an engineering, procurement and construction contract for upgrading the Zawia refinery. NOC's refineries include:

Refinery Capacity Operator
Zawia Refinery 120,000 ZOC
Ra's Lanuf Refinery
 220,000 RLOGPC
Brega Refinery 10,000 SOC
Tobruk Refinery 20,000 Agoco
Sarir Refinery 10,000 Agoco

Notes:
1. Amounts in barrels per day.

Petrochemicals

The Ra's Lanuf refinery produces

LLDPE) each with a capacity of 160,000 mt/year. These plants produce various products which are mostly exported. In Brega there is another petrochemical complex using natural gas as a feedstock. In May 2005, Shell agreed to a final deal with NOC to develop Libyan oil and gas resources, including LNG export facilities. The deal came after lengthy negotiations on the terms of a March 2004 framework agreement. Reportedly, Shell is aiming to upgrade and expand Brega and possibly build a new LNG export facility as well at a cost of $105–$450 million.[25]
The plants in this complex are:

Plant Type No. Capacity
Gas Liquification 1 1,565×10^12 cu ft/d (44,300 km3/d)
Ammonia 2 733,000
Methanol 2 660,000
Urea 2 916,000

Notes:
1. EIA 2007 (In mt/yr unless stated otherwise)

Exports

Oilinvest trades under the Tamoil brand in several European and African countries, such as at this filling station in Pijnacker in the Netherlands.

Most of the petroleum products produced by the National Oil Corporation are sold on a term basis, including to the country's overseas oil retail and marketing network

Repsol YPF, Tupras, CEPSA, and Total; and small volumes to Asian and South African companies.[2]

With domestic consumption of 284,000 bbl/d (45,200 m3/d) in 2006, Libya had estimated

Edison S.p.A. has committed, under a "take-or-pay" contract, to taking around half (140 Bcf per year) of the natural gas from the WLGP, and to use it mainly for power generation in Italy. Besides Edison, Italy's Energia Gas and Gaz de France
committed to taking around 70×10^9 cu ft (2.0×109 m3) of Libyan natural gas.

Energy overview

Statistic Amount
Proven oil reserves (2007E) 41.5 b/bbl
Oil production (2006E) 1.8 mmbd (95% crude)
Oil consumption (2006E) 284,000 bbl/d (45,200 m3/d)
Net oil exports (2006E) 1,525 Mbpd
Crude oil distillation capacity (2006E) 378 mbpd
Proven natural gas reserves (2007E) 52.7 tcf
Natural gas production (2006E) 399×10^9 cu ft (1.13×1010 m3)
Natural gas consumption (2005E) 206×10^9 cu ft (5.8×109 m3)

Notes:
1. Energy Information Administration (2007)

See also

References

External links

Notes

  1. ^ [Hargreaves, Steve (October 25, 2011) Libya oil eyed by Western companies. Retrieved from CNN website on Oct., 25, 2011 from http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/25/news/international/libya_oil/index.htm Archived 2011-10-27 at the Wayback Machine]
  2. ^ a b EIA 2007
  3. ^ T. Ahlbrandt (2001) p.1
  4. ^ World Bank (2006)
  5. ^ T. Ahlbrandt (2001) p.7
  6. ^ Omar Muntasir served as NOC Chairman until 1980
  7. ^ Library of Congress, 1987
  8. West German
    refining & marketing company
  9. ^ World Bank (2002) p.7
  10. ^ "An overview of O.F.A.C. Regulations involving Sanctions against Iran" (PDF). U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control. 2001-07-26. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  11. ^ Associated Press (2006-05-16). "U.S. Removes Libya From Terrorism List". Channel One Network. Archived from the original on 2006-05-17. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
  12. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on 2018-01-07. Retrieved 2018-01-06.
  13. ^ "Libya: Oil Minister Shukri Ghanem 'defects'". BBC News. 17 May 2011. Archived from the original on 2 January 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  14. ^ "Libya Appoints Former Eni Veteran Ben Yezza as Oil Minister". Businessweek. 24 November 2011. Archived from the original on 14 January 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  15. ^ "Libya Oil Chiefs Unify State Producer to End Row on Exports". Bloomberg News. 3 July 2016. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  16. TheGuardian.com. 2 July 2018. Archived
    from the original on 2018-07-04. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  17. ^ Intsok Onshore Market Report 2006[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ "Libya to Nearly Double Oil Output as OPEC's Task Gets Harder". Archived from the original on 2017-02-02.
  19. ^ a b U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2005, p. 21
  20. ^ P. Mobbs (2004) p. 19
  21. ^ International Crude Oil Market Handbook
  22. ^ Marathon Oil Corporation Annual Report 2005 Archived 2007-01-11 at the Wayback Machine, p. 50
  23. ^ "Libya's NOC interested in Marathon Oil stake in Waha Oil". Oil Review Africa. 4 October 2013. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  24. ^ "Libya approves Total's purchase of stake in Waha concessions". Reuters. 2019-12-10. Archived from the original on 2019-12-10. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  25. ^ EIA (2007) p.7
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