ExxonMobil has commenced drilling in Contract Area 20, a deepwater exploration block located off the coast of Libya in the Mediterranean Sea.

In a statement, the company confirmed that the Noble Homer Ferrington rig, contracted from Noble Africa, has started work at the A1-20/3 well. The rig is capable of drilling to a depth of 30,000 feet and can operate in waters up to 7,200 feet deep.

Commenting on the inauguration of the deepwater exploration, Phil Goss, president of ExxonMobil Libya, said that it built on the country's long and illustrious history of operations in the country.

Working in the 1960s and 70s with Esso and Mobil, Exxon helped to provide oil and gas training for thousands of Libyan workers, as well as making comprehensive infrastructural improvements.

He said that the project had been made possible by "the rigorous technical work conducted by our Libyan National and expatriate scientists and [the] collaboration with the Libya's National Oil Corporation."

Getenergy exploration and production news