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    Libya to start up phase two of El-Farag field

Summary

In the midst of civil war, Libya is scrambling to build up its gas-fired power sector.

by: Daniel Graeber

Posted in:

Natural Gas & LNG News, Middle East, Gas to Power, Political, News By Country, Libya

Libya to start up phase two of El-Farag field

Libya's Waha Oil Co. reported March 26 it was preparing for a second phase of operations at its El-Farag gas field in the southeast of the country.

The field is currently producing around 15,000 barrels of condensate and 70mn ft3/day of natural gas, Waha Oil Co. told NGW.

“We will work to operate the second phase soon,” Waha chairman Nuri al-Said said in a statement today.

After idling the field for the better part of a year, the company resumed operations in late 2020 and expects to produce 180mn ft3/d of gas per day from the second phase, possibly as early as April.

“This is a vital, important and strategic project that will support the electric power plants,” the chairman said.

Waha Oil is focused on operations in southeast Libya. Its announcement follows the January start of construction of a 164-MW gas-fired power station in the northwest city of Zilten by the state-owned General Electric Company of Libya.

The government in civil war-torn Libya is developing several new gas-fired plants to overcome crippling electricity shortages. Turkish contractor Enka in January stated that it had secured a contract with Germany's Siemens to build a 650-MW simple-cycle gas plant in the western port city of Misrata and a 671-MW simple-cycle station in the capital Tripoli. These projects will be fast-tracked and reach completion in 2022.

The new plants are all in areas held by the UN-backed Government of National Accord, based in Tripoli. Much of the south and east of the country is controlled by the Libyan National Army, headed by Khalifa Haftar. The two factions reached a cease-fire agreement in October that has so far held.