Wintershall Holding GmbH has sent back expatriates workers to Libya, a company executive said Wednesday, as some foreign companies now consider the place safe enough for staff to return.

Speaking at an Oil Council conference, Martin Bachmann, an exploration and production executive director at the German oil company, said "we now have expatriates on the ground. It's more in the tens."

Last month, Wintershall restarted its Libyan production from concessions jointly-owned with OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) after the civil war shut in its operations there.

European companies such as France 's Total SA (TOT) and Italy 's Eni SpA (E) have already sent some of their foreign workers back to the war-torn nation, following the toppling of Moammar Gadhafi from power.

But many US companies such as Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO), Hess Corp. (HES) and ConocoPhillips (COP), do not yet consider the country safe enough.

Bachmann said production from Wintershall's Libyan concessions remained at around 20,000 barrels a day. However, its production was 100,000 barrels a day before it was forced to shut down its operations and pull out staff after the civil war broke out in February.

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