Libya’s state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) has confirmed that Eni’s North African subsidiary has restarted exploration work in the country’s north-western offshore region, marking a renewed phase of development activity after a hiatus of more than five years.
According to the NOC, operations have resumed at offshore Block 16/4, where Eni is re-entering the exploratory well C1-16/4, also known as BESS-3. Drilling at the site initially began on 11 March 2020 and reached a depth of 1,012ft before it was halted the following month due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Ensco 4005 rig, which carried out the initial work, was decommissioned on 14 April 2020.
The well lies in Contract Area D, formerly known as MN 41, approximately 95km off the Libyan coast at a water depth of about 743m.
It is located roughly 15km from the Bahr Es Salam gas field, one of the country’s key offshore gas developments.
The Scarabeo-9 rig, operated by Italian oilfield services firm Saipem, has now been deployed to continue operations and complete drilling to the target total depth of 10,520ft.
The resumption aligns with Libya’s broader efforts to revive exploration and production activity after years of disruption caused by political instability and conflict.
It also builds on momentum from October last year, when Eni and bp jointly restarted drilling work in the Ghadames Basin, ending a ten-year suspension of onshore exploration that began in 2014.
In a further sign of renewed investment, Mellitah Oil and Gas — the joint venture between NOC and Eni — signed a contract in July 2025 with US-based Hill International to oversee the Structures A&E project.
The initiative aims to expand local gas output and strengthen Libya’s export capacity to Europe through the development of two fields within Contract Area D.
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