OMV sees Libya as a natural fit

Libya fits in well with a strategy of capitalizing on mature onshore oil basins and service to European energy needs, the head of Austria's OMV said.

Representatives from the National Oil Corp. of Libya met with their counterparts at OMV in Vienna. OMV Chief Executive Officer Rainer Seele said the joint meeting was indicative of the strategic value of Libyan oil.

Libya holds, by OMV's estimate, around 47 billion barrels of oil. Onshore areas are considered mature, though OMV said that's where it's positioned best.

"Libya is an ideal technological fit for OMV," he said in statements emailed to UPI.

According to Libya's NOC, both sides focused on developing technical studies to increase the reserve estimate and production capacity at Libyan oil fields.

Mustafa Sanalla, the head of the NOC, said production was around 700,000 barrels per day and could reach 800,000 barrels per day by the end of the month. Next August, he said, the goal is to reach 1.1 million barrels per day, a level consistent with pre-conflict output.

Libya is exempt from an arrangement organized by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to limit production in an effort to balance an over-supplied market because it needs the revenue to support national security efforts.

Conflict in Libya has limited production, though Seele said the country remains an attractive place for OMV to do business.

"The crudes produced are mostly light and low in sulfur which means that the strict European product requirements can be achieved with fewer processing steps than other crudes," he said. "Libya has a well-established pipeline transportation system which connects its oil production, situated in the Sirte and Murzuq basins, to refineries and export terminals on its Mediterranean coastline."