Mellitah complex will shut down for three weeks from the first of May to carry out a comprehensive overhaul, including some updates to sections and components of the complex.
Member of the Board of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), Masoud Suleiman, held a virtual meeting, in the presence of representatives of Sirte Oil and Gas Production and Processing Company, Mellitah Oil and Gas Company, Green Stream Company, Oasis Oil Company, Zueitina Oil Company, Brega Oil Marketing Company, and the General Electricity Company.
The meeting discussed ensuring the provision of quantities of natural gas to operate the Libya Iron and Steel complex (LISCO) and the power stations during the Mellitah complex shut down.
Shut down in agreement with foreign partners
In an exclusive interview with Libya Herald, the NOC Media Office stated that the Chairman of the NOC, Farhat Bengdara, gave permission to start the comprehensive overhaul of the Mellitah Complex, the Bahr al-Salam offshore field and the Wafa field, after agreement with the partners, as all the necessary arrangements were taken to compensate for the shortage of gas during the stoppage period.
The Media Office indicated the readiness of the work teams to start the comprehensive maintenance operations with the provision of all spare parts within the site of the complex.
Sirte Oil ready to makeup gas shortfall
For his part, the Acting Director of Gas Transportation at Sirte Oil and Gas Company, Musa Smaida, confirmed to Libya Herald that Sirte Oil Company is ready to pump alternative gas supplies to major consumers. He said quantities of natural gas will be provided to operate LISCo and power stations through Line 103 – the Sahel field, to produce electricity and to cover the expected shortfall in energy supplies as a result of gas shortages during the downtime.
Smaida added that the Sirte Oil and Gas Company was able to carry out its duty to continue the supply of natural gas without interruption so as not to affect the operation of electrical stations in the event of a decrease in the quantities of gas required to generate electricity.
He also pointed to the start of pumping natural gas from Brega to Al-Khums during the past period, at a rate of 100 million cubic feet per day, after a 12-year hiatus.
