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Energy Capital & Power spoke to José Carlos de Vicente Bravo, Regional Executive Director EAABV (Europe, Africa, Asia, Brazil & Venezuela), about Repsol’s role in Libya’s oil and gas market.
What is your medium- to long-term outlook for Libya’s oil and gas sector and for Repsol in this market?
Libya will continue to play an important role in assuring the energy security of southern Europe for the years to come and has all the ingredients to become an important player of the renewable energies supply. The stability of the country will be the key element to consolidate and further develop its strategic role in the mid and long term.
Repsol has been carrying out activities in Libya for almost three decades, and only interrupting them in situations of force majeure. Libya has become a key country for the company’s growth strategy, thanks to successive discoveries and successful projects that are in turn contributing in a very significant way to the development and consolidation of the country’s current and future wealth and welfare.
In August, Repsol expressed interest in resuming exploration in Libya. Could you provide more insight on these plans?
The positive signs showed towards the stabilization of the country could make it possible to resume the exploration activities that were suspended in recent years. Repsol and its partners would resume their pending exploration commitments as soon as practically possible if the situation remains stable.
What will the resumption in activities mean for Repsol’s broader portfolio?
Libya fits very well with the new exploration strategy enshrined in the New Strategic Plan 2021-2025 of the company. Repsol’s strategy is being driven by leaner and more focused exploration in areas where we have competitive advantages and that al- low short cycle and resilient projects with attractive economics. We are in the process of finalizing certain contractual adjustments to ascertain the new timeline during which we will execute our operations.
Does Repsol have plans to expand into renewable energy in Libya?
Repsol is committed to be a net zero emissions company by 2050 and to support the company’s roadmap towards net zero, we aim to make our upstream assets ‘tier 1’ lowest carbon intensity with a 75% reduction of emissions by 2025.
Since 2019, Repsol has been working to develop a broad set of initiatives to address the carbon emissions reductions in our producing assets in Libya. Zero routine flaring in our operations as well as the integration of renew- able energies such as photovoltaic in the power supply mix are some of the examples. We are currently dis- cussing both with NOC as well as with other Libyan entities to identify pilot projects of mutual interest.
What are your operational targets for the assets a) NC-186 and b) NC- 115?
There are three main line of actions that we are working on together with NOC and with Akakus Oil Operations. The first and most critical one is to execute all the necessary activities to protect the field infrastructure by means of capital investments targeting key pipelines and storage tanks repairs and replacements. The second one is to start executing the required activities to move toward the Zero Flair target. And the third line of action is to resume the drilling activities which were suspended and the exploration campaigns. These rep- resent a key milestone to sustain, in the short term, our current production level as well as to progressively allow El Sharara daily production to increase.
What actions can the Libyan government take to help facilitate the entry/re-entry of IOCs into the country’s upstream space?
In Repsol’s experience, Libya is a paramount example of how to interact with the international oil companies, showing respect for the contracts signed and the rule of law, paired with a business-oriented mindset, exerted by its NOC, that is second to none in the world. These elements remain key to any sustainable business and will be the cornerstone of an attractive business environment in the foreseeable future.
Libya’s renewable energy potential will be unpacked during a renewable energy panel at the upcoming Libya Energy & Economic Summit 2021, taking place on 22-23 November 2021, in-person in Tripoli and on Zoom for online participants. Energy Capital & Power is honored to work with the Government of National Unity and all industry participants to produce this historic summit.
Companies interested in supporting the event can contact [email protected] for more information. Individuals and organizations that wish to join as speakers or panelists can contact [email protected] and media partners can contact [email protected]. Learn more at www.libyasummit.com.
