By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Feb. 13 -- ENI SPA unit Agip Oil Co. Ltd. signaled the start-up of giant Elephant field in the Murzuk basin 800 km south of Tripoli.
Initial flow rate is 10,000 b/d. That is expected to increase to 150,000 b/d by the end of 2006. The field has more than 150 million bbl of recoverable oil (see map, OGJ, May 17, 1999, p. 65).
The joint venture for the exploration and exploitation of the area is made up of National Oil Corp., the Libyan state oil company, Korea National Oil Corp., and Agip Oil Co., equally owned by NOC and ENI.
ENI noted that it has been operating in Libya since 1959 and is a major international producer with 14% of the country's annual oil production.
By the end of 2004, production start-up of the Western Libya Gas Project, which will allow the export of 8 bcm/year of gas to Italy, is also planned.
