Waha Oil Company is an oil company based in Tripoli

Tripoli

Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...

, Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

, engaged in the fields of crude oil and natural gas

Natural gas

Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

 exploration and production.

Overview

WOC is involved in upstream activities, including oil exploration, drilling, production and shipping. They operate four oil fields, the largest being the Waha oil field. Additionally, WOC manages oil for several companies through its production lines running from the Sirte Basin to Es-Sider terminal. Some of these companies include Wintershall

Wintershall

Wintershall AG is the largest crude oil and natural gas producer in Germany. The company is based in Kassel, Germany. Wintershall is a wholly owned subsidiary of BASF, based in Ludwigshafen. The name Wintershall is derived from the surname of the enterprise co-founder Carl Julius Winter and the...

, Total S.A.

Total S.A.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world.Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and...

 and Zuietina. WOC is owned by the National Oil Corporation

National Oil Corporation

The National Oil Corporation is the national oil company of Libya. It dominates Libya's oil industry, along with a number of smaller subsidiaries, which combined account for around 70% the country's oil output...

 (NOC) in a joint venture

Joint venture

A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...

 with ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational energy corporation with its headquarters located in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas in the United States...

, Marathon

Marathon

The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...

 and Amerada Hess.

History

WOC was established in 1956 and its first oil discovery was made in 1959, in Dahra field. In 1962, WOC began pumping oil to a terminal operated by Conoco, Amerada Hess and Marathon. In 1968, Shell

Royal Dutch Shell

Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...

 joined the consortium, purchasing shares from Amerada Hess. In 1973, after the Al-Fatah Revolution, company shares were split between these companies (49%) and NOC (51%). In 1974, Shell declined to sign this agreement and NOC bought their shares, making the split 59-41%. This resulted in the formation of Oasis Oil Company. In 1986, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

 issued an Executive Order to all U.S. oil companies to withdraw from Libya. This led to an agreement between NOC and the U.S. oil companies to freeze previous agreements for three years, pending review. However, once economic sanctions were established they never returned. After this, NOC became the sole owner of WOC. In 2002, the previous parties involved re-established communications with NOC and WOC.

On 20 September 2004, President George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 signed Executive Order 12543, lifting most remaining U.S. sanctions against Libya and paving the way for U.S. oil companies to try to secure contracts or revive previous contracts for tapping Libya’s oil reserves. The Order also revoked any restrictions on importation of oil products refined in Libya, and unblocked certain assets.

Oil Fields

1. Waha field
   Waha field
   Waha field is an oil field located in the Libya sirte basinand owned by the Waha Oil Company , which is a subsidiary of the National Oil Corporation . During 2006, the Waha fields produced around per day, down from around in 1969 and in 1986. However, WOC expects to increase Waha output by...
   
   
2. Gialo field
3. Samah field
4. Dahra field
5. Essider terminal