First gas from phase two of Libya’s offshore Bahr Essalam development will be in May this year, according to a source close to the project.

Bahr Essalam is operated by Mellitah Oil & Gas, a joint venture of Italy’s Eni and Libya’s National Oil Company (NOC).

Offshore projects, like Bahr Essalam, are one of the few areas of the country’s project market that are attracting investment from international oil companies (IOCs) as they are not impacted by unrest and militia blockades.

In May 2015 One Subsea, is a joint venture of the two US oil field service companies Cameron and Schlumberger, was awarded a subsea contract as part of the project.

The subsea package was estimated to be worth $450m.

The total value of phase two of the Bahr Essalam development has been estimated to be around $3bn.

The project has seen significant delays due to the political instability seen since the country’s 2011 uprising.

Phase two of the Bahr Essalam project will deliver gas and condensates from 13 new subsea wells at the C-central and C-east zones to the existing Sabratha gas processing platform, where they will be partially treated and sent by a 110-kilometre pipeline to the onshore Mellitah plant.

The eastern area will include 10 wells divided into two cluster manifolds, which will be connected to existing risers on the Sabratha platform. A new cluster will also be built for two wells in the central area. The final well, which has already been drilled, will be completed and connected to a dedicated line to Sabratha.

Libya’s offshore production is dominated by the Bouri field, which sits within the NC-41 concession and is jointly operated by Italy’s Eni and state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC), through the Mellitah Oil & Gas venture.