Spanish oil giant Repsol (Amsterdam: RP6.AS – news) is ready to resume activity in Libya once the security situation allows it, Spain’s foreign minister said Thursday during a visit to Tripoli.
Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo was in Tripoli to demonstrate Spain’s support for a new UN-backed Libyan government.
“Repsol is ready to resume production as soon as an accord is finalised,” Garcia-Margallo said during a press conference after meeting the head of the unity government, Fayez al-Sarraj.
Libya’s warring rivals have come under intense international pressure to rally behind the unity government at a time when the country is grappling with a growing jihadist threat.
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Prime minister-designate Sarraj’s cabinet has taken control of eight government ministries including foreign affairs as it seeks to assert its authority over the violence-plagued country.
But his government has still not been endorsed by a vote of confidence from the internationally recognised parliament in Tobruk.
Repsol has operated in oil-rich Libya since 1975, and was pumping 340,000 barrels per day before it ceased activity in the country in 2014 due to security concerns.
Garcia-Margallo said the company would be able to produce 100,000 bpd at the Al-Sharara plant in south Libya once the situation stabilised.
Spain’s foreign minister said he and Sarraj discussed”the intensification of cooperation in the fight against illegal migration and against terrorism”.
A host of Western diplomats have been to Tripoli to show support for Sarraj’s fledgling administration.
