MILAN, Italy, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- The restart of the Greenstream natural gas pipeline from Libya is a sign of the strong ties between Libyan and Italian energy companies, ENI declared.
Italian energy company ENI announced that it started testing activity with the Libya's state-run National Oil Corp. for the release of natural gas into Greenstream.
"The volumes of gas shipped during the testing period mark the preliminary restart of the pipeline operations after eight months of stoppages due to the conflict in Libya," the Italian energy company said.
The company said 105 million cubic feet of gas was included in the first test run from the Wafa field, located west of Tripoli in the Libyan desert.
Italy had received nearly 10 percent of its natural gas from Greenstream before the Libyan war began in February. ENI said the Wafa field was used during the war to provide electricity to the local population.
Much of the energy infrastructure in Libya was damaged by conflict, which began to wane when rebel forces captured Tripoli in August.
ENI said it worked closely with NOC and its other regional partners to restore production activities for several months.
"The restart of the Greenstream is the result of excellent cooperation between NOC and ENI, and represents the first major milestone reached by ENI's strong commitment to bring greater energy security to Italy," the Italian company said.
