TRIPOLI, June 29 – Italian energy company Eni has begun production from the Sabratha Compression project in partnership with Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC), marking a significant milestone in efforts to increase the country’s natural gas production and strengthen energy security.
The offshore development has been designed to offset the natural production decline at the Bahr Essalam gas field, one of Libya’s largest offshore gas assets. By enhancing compression capacity, the project is expected to extend the field’s productive life while improving the efficiency of gas extraction.
According to Eni, the project is expected to raise annual gas production by approximately 800 million cubic metres, alongside the recovery of associated condensates, which are valuable liquid hydrocarbons produced during natural gas extraction.
As part of the development, a 1,600-tonne compression module equipped with new compression trains has been installed on the offshore Sabratha platform. The new facilities have a total processing capacity of approximately 440 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, enabling increased production from the Bahr Essalam field.
The additional gas volumes will primarily support Libya’s domestic electricity generation, helping to improve energy availability in the country while also sustaining exports to Europe through the GreenStream pipeline, which transports Libyan natural gas to Italy across the Mediterranean.
The project underscores the continued strategic partnership between Eni and Libya’s National Oil Corporation at a time when Europe continues to diversify its energy supplies and African producers seek to expand their role in regional and international gas markets.
For Libya, increasing natural gas production is expected to strengthen domestic energy security, generate additional export revenues and reinforce the country’s position as a key energy supplier to Southern Europe, while supporting long-term investment in its hydrocarbon sector.
