BASF agrees oil unit merger with Fridman's DEA to spur expansion - REUTERS

DECEMBER 7, 2017 / 9:13 PM

Dmitry Zhdannikov, Ron Bousso, Ludwig Burger

FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - Chemical giant BASF agreed to merge its oil and gas unit Wintershall with DEA, a vehicle of Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, to create one of the largest independent oil and gas firms in Europe, the companies said.

Fridman and his partners in the LetterOne investment vehicle made billions by selling their Russian oil empire in 2013 but have since struggled to expand in the United States and Britain due to sanctions imposed on Moscow despite not being under sanctions themselves.

By folding DEA into Wintershall and creating Germany’s first oil champion, cash-rich Fridman could create new opportunities for growth in large Western markets.

Wintershall says in talks with Libya to resolve oil export dispute - HYDROCARBON PROCESSING / REUTERS

May 10/2017
Reporting by Aidan Lewis; Additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar in London and Vera Eckert in Frankfurt; Editing by Susan Thomas and Greg Mahlich

TUNIS (Reuters) -- Libya's oil production is running at above 800,000 bpd for the first time since 2014, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Wednesday, but a commercial dispute with German oil firm Wintershall has shut in a further 160,000 bpd.

Libya's output could reach between 1.1 MMbpd and 1.2 MMbpd if political obstacles were removed, the NOC said in a statement.

"We are able to produce an average of 1.1 MMbpd to 1.2 MMbpd over the rest of this year, but for this to happen our oil must flow freely. A national effort is required," NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said.

Libya’s oil output nudges higher as Wintershall resumes production - WORLD OIL

Ionic Anassa is due to arrive at Zueitina on Oct. 3 2016

By TAGHREED ALMADANI, GRANT SMITH AND LAURA HURST on 9/28/2016

DUBAI (Bloomberg) -- Libya, struggling to revive its energy industry after five years of armed conflict, restarted production at an eastern oil field and was poised to export crude from the port of Zueitina for the first time since November.

Germany’s Wintershall AG began pumping at Concession 96 in As Sarah field on Sept. 16, and is producing 35,000 bpd, a company official said Wednesday in an emailed response to questions. Wintershall restarted production at the request of Libya’s National Oil Corp. (NOC) and will send oil from the field to Zueitina for export, the official said.