Total takes 16.33 pct stake in Libya's Waha oil field

PARIS, March 2 (KUNA) -- France's oil giant Total said Friday it had taken a 16.33 percent stake in the Waha oil concession in Libya, a move that will give it access to potential reserves of 500 million barrels of oil equivalent.
A statement from Total said that immediate production from its share of the Waha field would give the company production of 50,000 barrels per day of oil equivalent.
The cost of the acquisition was put at USD 450 million by the French entity, which will also obtain an exploration area of 53,000 hectares on the Waha concession, located in the Sirte basin in northern Libya.
The Waha concession currently produces around 300,000 b/d but output is expected to increase to 400,000 b/d by 2020.
Libya's oil company, NOC, holds 59.18 percent of Waha, with Total and Conoco Phillips each with 16.33 percent, and Hess, holding 8.16 percent on the concession.
Total already produces 31,500 b/d from the Al Jurf and Al Sharara fields where it has minority stakes. (end) jk.gta