Entity

Sirte Oil Company for Oil and Gas Production and Processing (SOC) (Arabic: شركة سرت لإنتاج وتصنيع النفط والغاز) is a major oil and gas exploration, production, refining, and petrochemical company operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC).

Historical Background

• Pre-1981: The company was originally known as Esso Standard Libya Inc., a subsidiary of Exxon Corporation (USA), which was the first company to discover commercial quantities of crude oil in Libya at the Zelten oil field​
• 1981: When Exxon (parent company of Esso Standard) withdrew from Libyan operations, the Libyan government nationalized the assets and Sirte Oil Company was formed as a NOC subsidiary​
• 1985: Listed as initially created as a joint venture with Grace Petroleum​
• 1986: SOC took over the assets of Grace Petroleum, one of five U.S. companies forced by the U.S. government to leave Libya​
• 1991: SOC merged with the National Petrochemical Company, creating the expanded Sirte Oil Company for Production, Manufacturing of Oil and Gas

Operations and Activities

Primary Activities of SOC include Oil and Gas Exploration & Production (E&P), Oil Refining, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Production, and Petrochemical Manufacturing.

SOC operates primarily in the Sirte Basin, located in central-eastern Libya:

• Major Oil Fields Operated: Zelten Field (Libya's oldest oil field, discovered by Esso)​, Nasser Field (one of Libya's largest), Raguba (Ar Raqubah) Field, Lehib Field, Jebel Field, Wadi Field​, Ralah Field, Arshad Field, Ain Jerbi Field, Al Wafa Field, Matkhandoush Field
• Gas Fields: Hateiba (non-associated gas), Sahl (non-associated gas), Assamound (Assumud) (associated/non-associated gas), Meghil (non-associated gas), Sorrah (non-associated gas), Attahaddy (Attahadi) (associated gas)

Current Production is Approximately 114,000 barrels per day (as of recent reports).

References

1. ecoi.net. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Jan 20, 1999. Document #1229285. Sirte Oil Company and whether it is government-owned [LBY30908.E]
2. Offshore Technology. 6 Nov 2024. Oil & gas field profile: Ar Raqubah Conventional Oil Field, Libya
3. Wikipedia. Sirte Oil Company (Page last updated: Nov 24, 2024)
4. LibyaHerald. S. Zaptia. Mar 16, 2025. Sirte Oil Company completes drilling of first horizontal development well resulting in ‘‘high production’’
5. Camco. Jun 2, 2025. Camco and Sirte Oil Achieve Historic Production Milestone in Zelten Field
6. Energy Capital & Power. M. Goosen. Sep 12, 2025. Sirte Oil Drills New Well at Zelten Field Onshore Libya
7. The Libya Observer. M. Ahmed. Oct 29, 2025. Sirte Oil Company resumes operations at second Methanol Plant