Gazprom won’t begin talks on restarting its projects in Libya until a “legitimate” regime is in place in the North African country, the company told Dow Jones Newswires yesterday.
Gazprom halted work at oil concessions C96 and C97, a joint project with Wintershall, which was producing 100,000 barrels a day when unrest broke out in the country in February. One of the projects is in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya’s coast, while the second is Block 64 located in the Gadames oil province.
“We would like to return to Libya as soon as possible,” a Gazprom spokesman told Dow Jones. “But until Libya has a legitimate government in place, we won’t start negotiations.”
Wintershall said Monday that production at the C96 and C97 concessions could be restarted within several weeks, depending “on the state of the export infrastructure as well as a stable security situation in the country.”
Plans by Gazprom’s oil unit Gazprom Neft to acquire a 33% stake in Eni’s Elephant field in Libya were also delayed due to the unrest in the country. The company said in April the deal would be finalized when the situation stabilizes in Libya, but declined to comment Tuesday.
