French energy company Total has substantially raised its presence in Libya with the purchase of a 16.33 percent stake in Libya's Waha concessions from U.S. Marathon Oil for $450 million on Friday.
The deal will give Total access to reserves and resources in excess of 500 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), with immediate production of around 50,000 boe/d (per day) and "significant exploration potential" in concessions in the Sirte Basin, the company said in a statement.
"This acquisition is in line with Total's strategy to reinforce its portfolio with high quality and low-technical cost assets whilst bolstering our historic strength in the Middle East and North Africa region," said Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne.
Total has been in Libya for decades and holds a production share of 31,500 boe/d in 2017 from concessions in the offshore Al Jurf field and the onshore Sharara field. It also has a share in Mabruk field, which has been closed for several years because of poor security.
The Waha Oil Company, a subsidiary of Libya's state-owned National Oil Corp (NOC), currently produces 300,000 boe/d, which is expected to rise to 400,000 boe/d by the end of the decade, Total said.
Other Waha stakeholders are NOC with 59.18 percent, ConocoPhillips with 16.33 percent and Hess with 8.16 percent.
