RWE Dea Sees Libyan Field Start-Up Delay

RWE Dea is delaying the start up of its oil fields in Libya. The company said that is still waiting on an agreement with local authorities before moving forward.

"We are now at the place where we need to build up a joint venture with NOC, all the formalities are in place we are now waiting for NOC to go into registration with us," Christoph Schlichter, senior VP for North Africa said on the sidelines of an industry event in London.

Schlichter said that its target date of 2014/2015 to start production was no longer feasible.

"They (Libyans) are keen to get new investments on the rise quickly to provide more jobs. But their focus has been ramping up (existing) production," he said.

RWE has made eight discoveries on Libyan blocks NC 193 and NC 195. The fields were declared to be commercially viable at the outset of 2011, however the civil unrest that led to the ousting and ultimate death of Muammar Qaddafi has slowed up the finalization of those development plans.