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Phone: +49 561 301-3301
Fax: +49 561 301-1321
Email: press@wintershall.com
Contacts
Press mailing list
Press releases
Wintershall-App
Dates
- 20.05.2012Kassel MarathonKassel, Germany
- 04.06.201225th World Gas Conference Kuala Lumpur
- 09.06.2012Documenta 13Kassel, Germany
Wintershall in Libya
- Production now at approx. 60,000 barrels per day
- Wintershall is supplying natural gas to generate electricity for Tripoli
- Company intends to continue operations in the country
In the middle of October 2011, Germany's largest producer of crude oil and natural gas, Wintershall restarted its oil production in the Libyan Desert which had been suspended in February for security reasons after the start of the unrest. Production is currently being ramped up. The facilities are undamaged; Libyan Wintershall employees looked after and continuously maintained the production sites in the desert. The first step for Wintershall was to achieve a rate of around 20,000 barrels per day and then to steadily increase this rate. Since then, daily production has now reached approximately 60,000 barrels. In the first quarter 2012 an average production level of 70,000 barrels was achieved. "We want to stabilise our production capacity at this rate in 2012. To do this, however, the export infrastructure also needs to be in place," says Dr. Rainer Seele, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Wintershall.
In a top-level meeting with the new Libyan Prime Minister Abdurahim el Keib in Tripoli in December 2011, Seele was informed about the latest political developments. The Prime Minster welcomed Wintershall’s willingness to invest in developing the oil industry and its affiliated infrastructure. El Keib thanked Seele for the humanitarian aid which Wintershall has provided: "Wintershall has been in Libya for many years. As a partner, your company has demonstrated a very humanitarian side in these historical times."
Rainer Seele, CEO of Wintershall (in the middle), and Martin Bachmann, Member of the Board for E&P (left-handed), at the first Meeting with Libya's new Prime Minister Abdurahim el Keib.
Seele assured the Libyan prime minister that he would give his support in building the ‘New Libya’. The company will continue to uphold its humanitarian commitment. As part of the emergency relief effort, Wintershall immediately made donations to the International Red Crescent and gave financial support to the independent children’s charity ‘Save the Children’. At present, Wintershall is making it possible for severely injured war victims to receive medical treatment in Germany.
An important contribution is also being made by Wintershall towards stabilising the energy supply in Libya. The company has started to process associated gas in the desert again. Instead of flaring, the gas which is brought to the surface with the crude oil is processed using a complex method. It is transported by pipelines to power plants on the Mediterranean coast. The gas is then used to produce the electricity required for supplying the Tripoli region.
Before suspending its operations, Wintershall was producing around 100,000 barrels of oil a day in Libya. The daily production volume in OPEC member state Libya generally fluctuates since oil production there is subject to OPEC restrictions. At the moment, it is not possible to say when the maximum daily production capacity will be reached.
An important contribution is also being made by Wintershall towards stabilising the energy supply in Libya. The company has started to process associated gas in the desert again. Instead of flaring, the gas which is brought to the surface with the crude oil is processed using a complex method. It is transported by pipelines to power plants on the Mediterranean coast. The gas is then used to produce the electricity required for supplying the Tripoli region.
Before suspending its operations, Wintershall was producing around 100,000 barrels of oil a day in Libya. The daily production volume in OPEC member state Libya generally fluctuates since oil production there is subject to OPEC restrictions. At the moment, it is not possible to say when the maximum daily production capacity will be reached.
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Production from eight onshore fields
As well as the production operations on the Libyan mainland, in which Gazprom holds a 49 percent share, crude oil production from the offshore platform Al Jurf in the Mediterranean has been back in operation since September 2011. Wintershall has a stake (6.75%) in Block C 137 together with the national oil company Mabruk Oil (73% / operator) and the French company Total (20.25%). The consortium has been producing crude oil there since 2003 at a depth of around 90 meters. Production was suspended at the beginning of 2011 during the armed conflict in Libya.
With investments of more than two billion US dollars and over 150 wells sunk, the BASF subsidiary Wintershall is one of the largest oil producers in Libya. The company has been active in the exploration and production of oil in the country since 1958. In view of the political situation, in February 2011 Wintershall suspended and sealed off production operations in the Libyan Desert for safety reasons. All the international staff was flown out at the same time. Around 370 local staff stayed in the country and were maintaining and keeping watch over the production facilities.
The Wintershall Chairman Rainer Seele expressed his deep gratitude to the staff in Libya: "In Germany it is difficult for us to imagine what it was really like to live here in the last few months and look after our company here as they did."
Wintershall does not consider the company’s activities in Libya to be in danger following the regime change. “The Transitional National Council and the Libyan NOC has confirmed on several occasions that it intends to respect the existing agreements,” Seele said. Around a dozen international Wintershall employees are now working in the country again.
With investments of more than two billion US dollars and over 150 wells sunk, the BASF subsidiary Wintershall is one of the largest oil producers in Libya. The company has been active in the exploration and production of oil in the country since 1958. In view of the political situation, in February 2011 Wintershall suspended and sealed off production operations in the Libyan Desert for safety reasons. All the international staff was flown out at the same time. Around 370 local staff stayed in the country and were maintaining and keeping watch over the production facilities.
The Wintershall Chairman Rainer Seele expressed his deep gratitude to the staff in Libya: "In Germany it is difficult for us to imagine what it was really like to live here in the last few months and look after our company here as they did."
Wintershall does not consider the company’s activities in Libya to be in danger following the regime change. “The Transitional National Council and the Libyan NOC has confirmed on several occasions that it intends to respect the existing agreements,” Seele said. Around a dozen international Wintershall employees are now working in the country again.
Prominent visit in the Libyan desert
Mustafa Abdul Jalil, Chairman of the National Transitional Council, visited Wintershall’s production facilities in the Sahara as part of a trip to Eastern Libya.
Wintershall and RWE support treatment of injured victims
(Tripoli, 30.11.2011) Wintershall and RWE, as part of the emergency relief efforts for Libya, are supporting the urgently required medical treatment of severely injured casualties. The first five patients have been arrived in Germany now.
Board Members in the Libyan Desert
In November CEO Rainer Seele returned to New Libya to thank the employees for their engagement.
Handelsblatt interview with Wintershall CEO Rainer Seele
Handelsblatt interview with Wintershall CEO Rainer Seele about the activities of Wintershall in Libya.
