Libya: Govt to Restart Petchem Plant by Mid-April

The Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Processing Company (RASCO), a subsidiary of Libya’s state-owned oil company NOC, will see a restart of its polyethylene plant by mid-April. The plant had suspended operations in 2013 due to conflicts between armed groups.

Several of its components were particularly affected and destroyed during the fighting and currently a host of maintenance work is being undertaken. According to RASCO, an incinerator has just been replaced.

In April 2018, RASCO reported that the Ras Lanuf ethylene plant, which has been inactive since 2011 for the same reasons as polyethylene, would restart “soon”, without specifying the date.

In Libya, industry officials place great hope in restarting the Ras Lanuf petrochemical complex to boost government revenues, diversify them and build a new growth outlet for the NOC.