French energy company Total said it has acquired a 16.33 per cent stake in Libya's Waha concessions from Marathon Petroleum in a deal worth $450 million as part of its expansion strategy for  Middle East and North Africa (Mena ) region.

This acquisition will give Total access to reserves and resources in excess of 500 million barrels of oil equivalent, with immediate production of around 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) and a significant exploration potential across the area of 53,000 sq km covered by the concessions in the prolific Sirte Basin.

Waha Oil Company is a subsidiary of Libya's state-owned National Oil Corp (NOC) and currently produces 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).

Besides NOC, which now has 59.18 per cent of the stake, the other major partners in Waha Concessions are ConocoPhillips (16.33 per cent) and Hess (8.16 per cent). The Waha Oil Company, a 100 per cent NOC-owned entity, operates the asset.

“This acquisition is in line with Total’s strategy to reinforce its portfolio with high quality and low-technical cost assets whilst bolstering our historic strength in the Middle East and North Africa region,” remarked Patrick Pouyanné, the chairman and CEO of Total.

“It builds on the Group’s long-term presence in Libya, a country with very large oil and gas resources, and demonstrates our commitment to continue supporting the recovering oil and gas industry of the country,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service