LIBYA - Zueitina Oil Co.

ZOC was created after the departure of Oxy from Libya in June 1986 to operate the five Intisar fields (formerly called Idris) in Block 103, 34,425 sq km, in the Sirte Basin. Before Oxy's return to this company, ZOC was owned 87.5% by NOC and 12.5% by OMV of Austria. In 1985, OMV had brought 25% into Oxy's Libyan operations. ZOC also operates fields in Block 102 and other tracts acquired in the early 1970s by Oxy.

Thanks to Oxy's return to this venture in 2005, ZOC's production capacity has been expanded from 40,000 b/d in the middle of that year to 100,000 b/d at present. The capacity should be increased to 150,000 b/d before 2010.

The Intisar reef was found in 1967 as a giant in a roughly circular structure about 5 km wide and 1,262 ft thick. It is in an easterly trend of the Sirte Basin, between Sarir in the south and Amal in the north.

Intisar A, found in 1967 at 9,750 ft, has 45[degrees] API oil. Intisar B, found in 1974 at 9,600 ft, produces 50[degrees] API oil.

Intisar C, found in 1967 at 9,650 ft, produces 37.5o API oil.

The test well in Intisar D, found in 1967 at 9,400 ft with 39[degrees] API oil, had a record output from a single well at 74,867 b/d in early 1970.

Intisar E was found in 1968 at 5,300-7,100 ft. It produces 34.7[degrees] API oil.

By mid-2005, there had been 65 wells in the Intisar group, of which 38 had beene producing. A 132-mile pipeline links the fields to Zueitina terminal on the coast. The first EOR system in Libya was installed at Intisar D in 1969.

After finding the Intisar group and other fields, Oxy signed a PSA with NOC in August 1973, giving NOC 51% and the US firm 49% in Blocks 102 and 103. In February 1974, Oxy signed a PSA with NOC for a 48,684 sq km block in the Sirte Basin covering a period of 35 years. The deals gave NOC 81% of Oxy's production.

ZOC is to have a gas pipeline built from Zueitina's 103A supply base in the Sirte Basin to the Brega coastal gasline. The project consists of a 42-inch, 215-km steel pipeline with a capacity of 1,500 MCF/d.

From the Brega coastal pipeline, the gas can then either run on to Mellita and Italy through the Greenstream subsea pipeline which went on stream in October 2004, or be used to fuel power generation in Libya.

The gas will be sourced from the Faregh field operated by WOC (see above), and from Zueitina's own concession. ZOC is also having the pipeline's compression station and associated facilities installed.

Sirte Oil Co: SOC was set up in 1981 to take over Exxon's holdings including its LNG plant at Marsa el-Brega. In 1986, SOC took the assets of Grace Petroleum. Grace had a 12% stake in SOC. SOC operates the Nasser, Raguba and other fields in the Sirte Basin, connected by pipeline to the main 107-km line from Nasser to Marsa El-Brega.

Nasser is one of the largest oilfields in Libya, found in 1959 when it was called Zelten. It is located 300 km south of Benghazi in the central part of the Sirte Basin in a Lower Eocene reservoir. In 1959 its reserves were estimated at 2.5 bn barrels of 38[degrees] API oil, lying at 5,500-7,600 ft. A gas lift system has been installed at the field for EOR.

SOC has a number of other fields, some of which it has found after Grace's departure. Its major gas fields include al-Wafa', discovered in 1991 in the Ghadames Basin, which straddles the border with Algeria and is an extension of Algeria's giant Alrar gas field.

Al-Wafa' has been developed by Agip for export to Italy (see Gas Market Trends of this week). This field's Libyan share is said to have 100m barrels of condensates and 2 TCF of gas recoverable.

SOC is in charge of two other gas fields, Attahaddy and Assumud. Named to signify Libya's defiance and steadfastness against the West, development work at Assumud was completed in late 1993. The field produces 75 MCF/d of gas. Assumud is said to have 458 BCF of gas in place, mostly in Jalu carbonates with some minor accumulations in the Oligocene Arida Clastics of the Najah group.

On Dec. 3, 2000, SOC announced a major gas discovery north-west of Assumud and about 90 km south-west of Marsa el-Brega, with reserves in place then estimated at 472 BCF of which SOC said 293 BCF would be recoverable.

Hyundai has developed Attahaddy (which contains 9-10 TCF) under a $250m contract awarded in September 1999.

Sirte Oil Co. (SOC) has become a major gas producer thanks to Attahaddy (see OMT), which came on stream in late 2002. Its output is 300 MCF/d. The field has a two-train plant with a capacity to process 350 MCF/d of gas. The gas is supplied to the country's power plants.

As this is the largest gas field in Libya, Attahaddy is also to supply Marsa el-Brega's LNG plant when the revamping of the facility has been done, with Shell now involved in this (see Gas Market Trends No. 3 of next week). The consultant for the field's $400m development was Teknika of the UK, which did the front-end engineering and designs (FEED). The field's development had been delayed for years due to the US and UN sanctions.