Eni
SpA's giant Elephant oil and gas field in Libya could restart as
early as next month as damage at the site has been limited, a top
executive at the Italian company's local joint venture said Monday.
The resumption of Elephant, which accounts for about 25% of Eni's
Libyan oil and gas production, would come as the country's output
recovery appears set to speed up following the demise of Moammar
Gadhafi.
In an interview, Mohamed Jamaleddin, a member of the
management committee of Eni's
Libyan joint venture Mellitah Oil and Gas BV, said production at
Elephant could restart "maybe in a month--it is possible."
He said there was "no big damage" at the field, which is
located in Libya's desert south.
Mellitah's managers had previously declined to give any
indication for the restart of the field, which is close to Sabha, a
Gadhafi stronghold that only fell in mid-September.
A civil war interrupted most of Libya's production in
February, pushing international oil prices upward. In 2010, Elephant
produced nearly 126,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day on average.
But the overthrow of Gadhafi and his death last week are set
to accelerate the ongoing return of the country's oil and gas to global
markets.
Jamaleddin said the Bahr Essalam field, the restart of which
will trigger the resumption of major Libyan natural gas exports to
Italy, could also produce again in "early November, we think" as its
power supply has already been switched back on. That would be earlier
than the previous expectations of late next month.
The 40,000-barrels-a-day Bouri offshore oil field is also set
to return on line early November, he said. The Abu-Attifel field, which
restarted last month, has cut production by 30,000 barrels a day to
40,000 barrels a day due to routine reservoirs checks, Jamaleddin added.