After review, negotiations, and government approval NOC approves Total’s participation in the Waha concessions.

Catogory : Market Report

National Oil Corporation (NOC) board has announced NOC’s approval of Total’s acquisition of Marathon Oil Libya Limited (MOLL)’s stake in the Waha concessions, which represents 16.33 percent of the concessions. NOC Chairman Eng. Mustafa Sanalla said: “When Total announced the purchase of MOLL’s stake in the Waha concessions through the acquisition of MOLL for a price of 450 million USD, NOC withheld its approval until it had the opportunity to scrutinize the deal in all its legal, contractual, financial, and investment aspects. In addition, NOC considered the feasibility of NOC or other Libyan entities acquiring that stake, versus what Total could bring to the concessions on a technical level and to the regions adjacent to them through social development. NOC also sought the government approvals necessary to complete the deal.”, “After successful negotiations with Total I am pleased to report that NOC approves this deal for two main reasons.  Total has committed to invest 650 million USD to the development of the Waha concessions and to ramp up production through two main projects, North Gialo and NC 98. This will bring an 180,000 barrels per day increase in production. As a technical partner, Total will bring the right technology and experience to be able to deliver these gains. NOC therefore believes that Total is better placed to acquire MOLL’s stake in the Waha concessions than any other option.  The review process has shown that while the option of acquiring MOLL’s stake by the Libyan state would apparently increase total revenues for Libya, it would also entail significant financial obligations to fund operations, development implementation and increased production