Mellitah Oil & Gas, the joint venture between Italy’s Eni and the Libyan National Oil Corporation, has achieved first hydrocarbon production from its Sabratha compression project, a strategic offshore development designed to sustain and boost gas output from the Bahr Essalam gas field roughly 100 kilometres off Libya’s coast.
The project centres on the installation of a new 1,600-tonne compression module on the Sabratha platform, fitted with new compression trains delivering an overall compression capacity of approximately 440 million standard cubic feet per day. The new module enables continued production under low-pressure conditions, offsetting the natural decline of the Bahr Essalam field and maximising gas recovery, with Eni projecting increased gas volumes of around 800 million cubic metres per year alongside associated condensate.
Eni said the additional production will play a critical role in sustaining national power generation, reinforcing Libya’s energy security, and supporting gas exports to Italy via the Greenstream pipeline. “The successful start-up of the Sabratha compression project confirms Eni and NOC’s commitment to timely deliver complex offshore developments, even in challenging environments,” the company said, adding that the project strengthens the resilience of Libya’s gas infrastructure and contributes to the stability and growth of the country’s energy sector.
Two further strategic projects remain in execution in Libya: the Bouri gas utilisation project, where tie-in and commissioning activities are underway following installation of a gas recovery module, and the Structures A&E development, where work continues to bring two additional offshore gas fields online. Eni, which recorded equity production of approximately 162,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in Libya in 2025, currently has three development projects in execution across the country worth a combined investment of roughly $10 billion.
Source: offshore-energy.biz