The National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced on 22 February, that engineers from Zueitina Oil Company had restarted production in Sabah oilfield south of the Sidra and Ras Lanuf terminals and near the Zella oasis. It stopped functioning in 2015 after being sabotaged and looted.
In a statement, the NOC said that the field had resumed operations after the reactivation of Well No. G18. It added 600 b/d. This will be transported by tanker to the Zella field, which is some 90 kilometres from Sabah.
The NOC noted that when allocated the field, Zueitina embarked on a plan to develop it in two phases. The first phase has focussed on restoring production at two wells to achieve 1,200 b/d. The second phase covers the major development of the field and includes 17 new wells, the combined capacity of which is set at 4,000 b/d. These should be in operation by the last quarter of 2025 and bring total output to in excess of 5,000 b/d.
