CAPITAL: Tripoli

MONETARY UNIT: Dinar

REFINING CAPACITY: 348,400 b/cd

OIL PRODUCTION: 1.4 million b/d

OIL RESERVES: 29.5 million bbl

GAS RESERVES: 46.3 tcf

Libya reached agreement late in 1997 to supply light crude oil to Egypt in return for Egyptian natural gas. Two pipelines were planned. Libya was to ship 150,000 b/d of crude in a 383 mile line from Tobruk to Alexandria in return for an unspecified volume of gas from Egypt`s western desert fields.

Upstream developments

Libya`s crude oil production capacity is likely to jump to 1.65 million b/d by 2000, up 18% from 1995, the International Energy Agency predicted. NGL production capacity was to climb 50% to 75,000 b/d. Gas output gains are not quantified, but with LNG plant modifications export capacity likely will grow 41% to 4.5 billion cu m/year.

Libya had 13 rigs active through most of 1997 as it sought to make up production declines in its older fields. That made it the fourth busiest African country behind Algeria, Egypt, and Nigeria.

Repsol, Total, and OMV started up 1 billion bbl Murzuk field, first commercial production from the Murzuk basin in far southwestern Libya. Production started at 50,000 b/d and was to have reached 100,000 b/d by yearend 1997. Target is 200,000 b/d by 2005. Oil was shipped from the field in NC115 near Sebha through a new 345 km, 30 in. pipeline to Hamada Al-Hamra, where an existing line takes it 380 km to the Zawia refinery west of Tripoli.

The Murzuk basin had another big success. A Lasmo group gauged the F1-NC174 well on the Elephant Prospect just south of NC115. It flowed a constrained 7,500 b/d of 38° gravity oil from below 5,000 ft. Pressure data indicated 10,000 b/d was possible.

The discovery well, 70 km from the Repsol group`s pipeline, cut more than 300 ft of net oil pay. The structure looks on seismic to cover 35 sq km. The pipeline has spare capacity, but Lasmo said more drilling was needed to determine the field`s potential. Interests are 33.33% each Lasmo, Agip, and a Korean consortium consisting of Pedco, Daewoo, Hyundai, Majuko, and Daesung.

Meanwhile, Canadian Occidental Petroleum acquired from Bula Resources a farmout of the 8,328 sq km G Block in the Ghadames basin bordering Algeria and Tunisia and the 173 sq km U Block in the Sirte basin. Work was to include 1,250 km of seismic and three wildcats, both blocks included.

Transportation

Libya proposed to lay oil and gas pipelines from Wafa field, part of which is in Algeria, in the Ghadames basin to the Mediterranean coast. Libya`s state Sirte Oil Co. discovered the gas portion of the field. The gas would be shipped to Italy via a trans-Mediterranean pipeline.

Libya also planned to loop the oil line from Hamada Al-Hamra to Zawia in 1998.