The Libyan National Oil Co mpany (NOC) and Norwegian Oil Company (Yara) have signed the final agreements for the setting up of a joint fertilizer company, Libya-Norway Fertilizer Company (Laivco), with a capital of US$ 450 million.
NOC and Libyan Office for Investments hold 50% shares in the company, while Yara holds the other 50%.
The agreement was signed on Monday between the secretary of the NOC’s management committee, Dr Choukri Ghanem, and Yara’s Managing Director, Jorgen Ole Haslestad.
According to the agreement, the assets of ammonia and urea factories based in Marsa-Brega, 850 km east of Tripoli, estimated at US$225 million will be transferred to the joint company.
Yara Company will pay US$225 million which will be used for financing projects for modernization and development of the capacities of the factories and for the improvement and increase of their production.
The Libya-Norway mixed fertilizer company plans at a later stage to focus its investments on the implementation of new factories, thanks to an additional supply of natural gas at its disposal.
The current production of the two factories is estimated about 900,000 tons of urea and 150,000 tons of ammonia per year.
These two organizations hire about 1,200 Libyan workers, sources said.
