Austrian OMV opens youth centre in Tripoli

The official opening of the Libya Youth Center in Tripoli, Libya took place on May 8, 2012. The psycho-social centre was initiated by OMV to offer the prospect of a more carefree future to children and adolescents who have suffered from acts of war and their consequences in Libya.

The primary goal of the center is to enable young people to work through their experiences with professional support.

To implement the center, OMV works with the Hilfswerk Austria International, a relief organisation with many years of experience and extensive knowledge in the field of development co-operation. The co-operation agreement was signed in October 2011 for a period of two years with a total budget of EUR 2.1 mn.

OMV and Hilfswerk Austria International worked closely with the National Transitional Council and local stakeholders during the project planning and implementation phase, and, after 24 months, the centre will be handed over to the Libyan authorities, who will continue to run it.

Speaking about the Libya Youth Center, OMV CEO, Gerhard Roiss, said: “True partners prove themselves during times of crisis. We have a responsibility towards the citizens of Libya as well as to our local staff. Just as we continued to pay our local employees during times of unrest even though production was halted, we are now helping the younger generation to overcome their fears and carry the hope of a better future.”

Since spring 2012, the psycho-social center has acted as a drop-in centre for distressed children and adolescents between the ages of six and 25. Both international and Libyan experts are working at the center to provide the bestpossible support and therapy to all visitors. In addition, psycho-therapeutic counselling and support, leisure and outdoor activities and educational programs (language courses, IT courses, etc) are provided, with a particular emphasis placed on the inclusion of parents and families.

Moreover, mobile teams carry out educational work in schools, hospitals and local community centres to help those affected overcome any inhibitions and fears. It is through the co-operation with schools and public institutions that we are able to carry out this additional support work outside the centre.

As there are only a few centres of this kind in Tripoli, the need for psychosocial support is particularly high. 260 children and adolescents are currently being given counselling and support and to increase this number further, training and education will be offered to local volunteers who are active in the social sector. The goal is to give support to around 1,200 children and adolescents in the next two years.

According to official estimates, the violent struggle has resulted in some 30,000 deaths, with tens of thousands wounded. Around 170,000 children and young people in Tripoli and Benghazi have been badly traumatized.

OMV Aktiengesellschaft

With Group sales of EUR 34.05 bn and a workforce of 29,800 employees in 2011, OMV Aktiengesellschaft is one of Austria’s largest listed industrial companies. In Exploration and Production, OMV is active in two core countries Romania and Austria and holds a balanced international portfolio. OMV had proven oil and gas reserves of approximately 1.13 bn boe as of year-end 2011 and a production of around 288,000 boe/d in 2011.

In Refining and Marketing, OMV has an annual refining capacity of 22.3 mn t and as of the end of 2011 approximately 4,500 filling stations in 13 countries including Turkey. In Gas and Power, OMV sold approximately 24 bcm of gas in 2011.

In Austria, OMV operates a 2,000 km long gas pipeline network with a marketed capacity of around 101 bcm in 2011. With a trading volume of around 40 bcm in 2011, OMV’s gas trading platform, the Central European Gas Hub, is amongst the most important hubs in Continental Europe. OMV further strengthened its position through the ownership of a 97% stake in Petrol Ofisi, Turkey’s leading company in the retail and commercial business.

Sustainability

OMV is a signatory to the UN Global Compact, and an active supporter to the values enshrined in its Code of Conduct. These include a strong sense of responsibility towards the social and natural environment, especially in economically weak regions.

OMV continuously addresses economic, environmental and social issues related to its business in a responsible manner. The company reports on its activities in a sustainability report in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines.

Hilfswerk Austria International

Hilfswerk Austria International is a humanitarian, non-partisan and non-denominational organization that is part of the Österreichisches Hilfswerk relief organization. It provides support for civilian victims of war and environmental disasters on a global basis as well as development co-operation. Under the motto “face-to-face with Austria”, the organization has successfully helped others to help themselves on a sustainable basis – on a professional, non-bureaucratic and local level, for many years. The organization’s focus is on people and their health, improving their chances of survival and supporting families - especially children.

17 employees in Vienna and 92 employees and 1,002 volunteers within the project countries provide the best possible support for people in need. Hilfswerk Austria International ensure that all donations are used carefully and effectively and adhere to strict accounting controls

Source: BI-ME , Author: Posted by BI-ME staff

Party's Over For Libya's Epsa-4 Pioneers

One by one, the international oil companies (IOCs) that rushed into Libya to participate in the country's first two hotly contested Epsa-4 bid rounds in 2005 are preparing to pull out as their five-year exploration licenses approach expiry.

But despite the tricky year operators have endured in Libya, it is geology, rather than political interference by Tripoli, that is the key factor behind their departure (PIW Jun.8,p4). Discoveries on acreage awarded in those rounds have been rare, with only Canadian independent Verenex -- now set to be acquired by the state Libyan Investment Authority -- bucking the general trend of dry holes and small, subcommercial finds. "If over the next two to three years we don't see any serious exploration success, quite a few companies will be moving out of Libya," Repsol YPF's Libya country chief Felix Castaneda told a recent conference.

Australia independent Woodside is leading the way, announcing plans last month to exit Libya by early 2010. The UK's BG has also served notice that it intends to relinquish two of three exploration blocks it was awarded in 2005, and is soon expected to part with a third that it shares with Norway's Statoil. Woodside has had no drilling success on any of its four offshore Epsa-4 blocks, and is expected to let these licenses lapse next year, in addition to selling its interests in older Epsa-3 acreage. The writing is on the wall for a host of other companies -- Brazil's Petrobras and Australian partner Oil Search last month plugged and abandoned their single commitment well on offshore Block 18. Other winners from the first two Epsa-4 rounds are also understood to be on the way out, notably Chevron from Murzuq Area 177 and state China National Petroleum Corp. from offshore Block 17-4, while the jury is still out on the commerciality of the gas find made a year ago by the US' Hess on offshore Block 54.

Operators with older contracts and a few discoveries to their name face a rather different challenge, namely how to develop these finds under tougher Epsa-4 terms. When Libya's state National Oil Corp. (NOC) launched contract renegotiations with producers in 2007, it maintained that companies working under older and generally more generous terms would have to agree to new terms for the production phase conforming to the Epsa-4 model. For some, that crunch time is now fast approaching, and NOC is firmly in the driver's seat (PIW Nov.9,p5). Having spent millions on exploration, walking away is not an option, and many operators are keen to find a way to negotiate with NOC. But for those already facing technical challenges -- as Repsol and Austria's OMV are with their offshore NC-202 discoveries -- tougher Epsa-4 terms may jeopardize their development prospects.

New opportunities for IOCs in Libya remain limited, with one possible exception. Having taken note of the majors queuing up to develop Iraq's fields under service contracts, Shokri Ghanem -- albeit during his brief hiatus from his job as head of NOC -- recently said he would love to see the same happen in Libya (PIW Oct.26,p7). NOC has always maintained that Libya's bigger and mature producing fields are off-limits to foreign investors and will stay in the hands of NOC subsidiaries such as Agoco and Sirte Oil, quashing IOC hopes of landing re-development, enhanced oil recovery or production-sharing contracts for giant fields such as Sarir. New bid rounds are also on hold, at least until oil prices head back closer to $100 per barrel.

Source: Energy Intelligence Group

Two new oil & gas discoveries in Libya

The Libyan state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) has reported two new oil and natural gas discoveries - one with Algerian partner Sonatrach in the Ghadames basin and the other with Spanish partners Repsol YPF SA and OMV AG in the Sirte basin.

NOC said Sonatrach made the first discovery on Block 65 in the Ghadames basin with the wildcat A1-65/02 well. The well was drilled to 9,033 ft TD about 230 km south of Tripoli, encountered both oil and gas in the Mamouniyat formation at intervals of 8,532 and 8,560 ft.
Testing of the wildcat showed oil of 48.8° gravity flowing at 1,344 b/d and gas flowing at 1.88 MMcfd through a 28/64-in. choke, NOC said.

NOC holds a 75% stake in the Block 65 license, while Sonatrach holds the remaining 25% stake, which it acquired in 2005.

NOC's second reported discovery, in the Sirte basin about 500 km east of Tripoli, was with the A1-NC202 wildcat, drilled to 15,815 ft TD in 50 m of water.

NOC said the A1-NC202 discovery found both oil and gas in the Demah formation at intervals of 4,442 and 4,484 ft. Testing of the well showed 26° gravity oil flowing at 1,264 b/d and gas flowing at 0.58 MMcfd through a 32/64-in. choke.

Repsol YPF operates the NC202 Block, which was awarded in 2003. Repsol YPF holds 21% interest, while NOC has a 65% stake, and OMV holds the remaining 14%.