Libya Fuel Additional Information
Fuel Supply and Storage
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 continental shelf. NOC has a network of onshore oil, gas and product pipelines, crude oil export facilities and a gas pipeline. The Western Libyan Gas Project (WLGP) is a 50-50 joint venture between NOC and Eni, which came online in October 2004. Since then, WLGP has expanded to Italy and beyond. Currently, 280×10 9 cu ft (7.9×10 9 m 3 ) per year of natural gas is exported from a processing facility at Melitah, on the Libyan coast, via 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. 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.
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.
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, Total and Norsk Hydro. Also located in Murzuq Basin is Eni’s 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 m 3 /d) when fully operational in 2007.
WOCs Waha fields currently produce around 350,000 bbl/d (56,000 m 3 /d). On 29 December
2005, ConocoPhillips and co-venturers reached an agreement with NOC to return to its oil and natural gas exploration and production operations in Libya and extend the 13-million-acre (53,000 km 2 ) Waha concessions another 25 years. ConocoPhillips operates the Waha fields with a 16.33% share in the project. NOC has the largest share of the Waha concession, and additional partners include Marathon
(16.33%) and Amerada Hess.
A UK based company called Warefield Engineering Support Limited with URL www.warefield.co.uk is one of the major supplier to this company.
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 m 3 /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
Zawia Refinery
Capacity Operator
120,000 ZOC
Ra's Lanuf Refinery 220,000 RLOGPC
Brega Refinery 10,000 SOC
Tobruk Refinery
Sarir Refinery
20,000 Agoco
10,000 Agoco
Notes:
1. Amounts in barrels per day.
Petrochemicals [edit]
The Ra's Lanuf refinery produces petrochemicals, utilizing naphtha as a feed stock to an ethylene plant with a capacity of 1.2 million tpy (tons per year). Its main products are ethylene (330,000 tpy), propylene (170,000 tpy), Mix C4 (130,000 tpy) and P Gasoline (335,000 tpy). NOC also has two polyethylene plants, (HDPE and 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. The plants in this complex are:
Plant Type No. Capacity
Gas Liquification 1 1,565×10 12 cu ft/d (Template:Convert/km3/d)
Ammonia
Methanol
Urea
2
2
2
733,000
660,000
916,000
According to OGJ, Libya has five domestic refineries, with a combined capacity of 378 thousand bbl/d.
Ras Lanuf : This exportoriented refinery on the Gulf of Sirte, Libya’s largest at 220 thousand bbl/d of crude processing capacity, is also the only one to remain offline as of mid-2012. Target restart dates have been repeatedly pushed back; the reasons proffered for the delay have varied, from previously insufficient production from feedstock grades or fields (Sarir and Messla) to damage to storage tanks during last year’s fighting. The current operator is the Libyan Emirati
Refining Company (LERCO), a joint venture between NOC and the Dubai-based Al-Ghurair business conglomerate. The refinery was completed in 1984, but the current operator has expressed an intention to increase and upgrade the refinery’s capacity in the coming years.
Zawiyah : Libya’s second-largest refinery, with a capacity of 120 thousand bbl/d, is also the only significant one near the capital of Tripoli. Until an August 2011 attack on the pipeline that connects southwestern fields to the refinery, its production had been maintained in order to supply loyalists with fuel. The refinery’s production gradually recovered thereafter, before being declared fully operational in November 2011. It is operated by Zawiyah Oil Refining Co., a subsidiary of NOC.}
Tobruk : Near Libya’s eastern border, Tobruk is reported to run on crude oil from Sarir, one of the first fields to restart after the conflict. Most sources report Tobruk’s capacity as 20 thousand bbl/d,

but the operator claims a capacity of 120 thousand bbl/d.
Sarir:Like Tobruk, Sarir is operated by an affiliate of AGOCO and is reported to be processing crude pumped from the field of the same name. It is a topping facility with a capacity of only 10 thousand bbl/d.
Marsa El Brega : The oldest refinery in Libya, the Marsa El Brega refinery has a crude processing capacity of 8 thousand bbl/d. It is operated by Sirte Oil Company.
Libya's refining sector was impacted by UN sanctions, specifically UN Resolution 883 of
November 11, 1993, which banned Libya from importing refinery equipment. Libya is seeking a comprehensive upgrade to its entire refining system, with a particular aim of increasing output of gasoline and other light products.
Libyan Petroleum Institute
Address Gargarish Road, 7km , P.O. Box 6431 Triploi, Libya
Contact Name
Title/Position email info@lpi.org
Telephone +218 21 486 0022
Fax +218 21 483 0031
Web http://www.lpilibya.com/index.php
Summary of Role and Services
Libyan Petroleum Institute (LPI) formerly known as Petroleum Research Centre (PRC) was established in 1977 as the technical arm of the National Oil Corporation (NOC)., LPI consists of over 40 laboratories specializing in different branches of the petroleum industry (upstream downstream activities) and employs more than 400 competent personnel.
LPI provides Laboratory testing services and studies in the fields of Exploration, Reservoir
Exploitation, Oil and Gas Processing and a wide range of services in Environmental monitoring.
Services
* Laboratory testing services to the Libyan oil and gas industry.
* Technical studies in exploration, reservoir exploitation and processing of oil and gas.
* Geological & Geophysical data management.
* Studies on the environment and safety controls in the petroleum industry.
Standards Used
ISO 9001:2008
ISO 17025