Libya’s state National Oil Corporation (NOC) reported today that Algeria’s Sonatrach Libya resumed its exploration activities in the country in Block 96/2 in the Ghadames Basin in mid-October, after a hiatus of more than ten years.
The company will begin completing drilling operations in the exploratory well (A1-96/2), which it began drilling in April 2014. Drilling continued until it reached a depth of 8,090 feet, before the company was forced to abandon the site in May 2014 due to the unstable security situation at the time.
The company plans to complete drilling at an expected final depth of 8,440 feet.
The well is located in contract area (95/96) in the Ghadames Basin, near the Libyan-Algerian border. The exploration well (A1-96/2) is approximately 100 kilometers from the Wafa field (owned by Mellitah Oil Company) and approximately 800 kilometers from the capital, Tripoli.
It is worth noting that Sonatrach signed the Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA IV) with the National Oil Corporation (NOC) as operator in 2008.









