Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced last Tuesday (5 May) that Mellitah Oil & Gas Company announced the completion of the manufacturing and assembly works of the equipment of the Gas Exploitation Project in the Al-Bouri field. The NOC said this achieves a new qualitative leap following Mellitah’s success in installing the compressors of the Sabratha platform recently.
The announcement by Mellitah followed an official ceremony last Tuesday (5 May) in the Italian city of Ravenna to celebrate the end of this phase, where the technical data showed that the actual percentage of completion exceeded plans to reach 69% – exceeding the planned percentage by 62%.
US$ 1.565 billion strategic project
The NOC said this strategic project, which was signed with Saipem in August 2023, is one of the largest investments in the sector with a total budget of US$ 1.565 billion, of which about $928 million has been spent until December 2025.
Following the ceremony, the cargo ship loaded with project units began its journey towards the Al Bouri field and is expected to arrive within ten days to begin heavy lifting and technical linkage to platforms (3) and (4).
The engineering works of the project included a comprehensive modernization of facilities and the laying of submerged pipelines, including a 14-inch diameter and 8 km long line to connect the two platforms, and another 10-inch diameter and 20 km long line to connect the Al-Bouri field to the Sabratha platform and from there to the Mellitah Industrial Complex on the north western Libyan coast.
Project has significant economic and environmental dimensions
The project has significant economic and environmental dimensions as it aims to exploit a design capacity of up to 125 million cubic feet per day of natural gas and reach the “zero” level of flaring in the Buri field, in line with the NOC’s vision to eliminate gas flaring by 2030.
Scheduled to go into actual production in September 2026
The project is scheduled to go into actual production in September 2026, effectively contributing to enhancing the supply of gas to the local market and exporting the surplus, thus forming a vital tributary to the national energy system.
