The NOC said in a press release it \u201creceived official notifications from the Italian company ENI and the British company British Petroleum regarding the lifting of force majeure and the resumption of exploration and contractual obligations in the blocks awarded to them in the Ghadames Basin (A-B) and offshore Block C\u201d.<\/p>\n
It said it had also been notified by Algeria\u2019s Sonatrach that \u201cexploration and fulfilment of contractual obligations in blocks 065 and 96\/95 in the Ghadames Basin\u201d had resumed.<\/p>\n
Force majeure is a measure invoked in exceptional circumstances, allowing exemption from liability in the event of non-compliance with contractual obligations. The Ghadames Basin is in southwest Libya in an area rich in oil and gas on the border with Algeria and Tunisia.<\/p>\n
Security concerns<\/h4>\n
In December, the NOC called on foreign companies with which it had hydrocarbon exploration and production agreements to lift the force majeure they had invoked, arguing that the\u00a0security situation had improved<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Crude oil is the main revenue source for Libya, which has been torn by more than a decade of stop-start conflict, involving foreign powers and a myriad of militias since a NATO-backed revolt toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.<\/p>\n The country sits on\u00a0Africa\u2019s biggest oil reserves<\/strong>\u00a0but the wedge between the eastern government and a United Nations-recognised administration in Tripoli has hampered Libya\u2019s efforts to sharply ramp up output in response to a surge in European demand for non-Russian oil and gas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n