Waha Oil Company

Waha Oil Company (WOC; Arabic: شركة الواحة للنفط‎, or shirkat al-wāḥa lil-nifṭ) is an oil company based in Tripoli, Libya, engaged in the fields of crude oil and natural gas exploration and production.

Overview

WOC is involved in upstream activities, including oil exploration, drilling, production and shipping. They operate four oil fields, the largest being the Waha oil field. Additionally, WOC manages oil for several companies through its production lines running from the Sirte Basin to Es-Sider terminal. Some of these companies include Wintershall, Total S.A. and Zuietina. WOC is owned by the National Oil Corporation (NOC) in a joint venture with ConocoPhillips, Marathon and Hess Corp.

History

WOC was established in 1956 and its first oil discovery was made in 1959, in Dahra field. In 1962, WOC began pumping oil to a terminal operated by Conoco, Amerada Hess and Marathon. In 1968, Shell joined the consortium, purchasing shares from Amerada Hess. In 1973, after the Al-Fatah Revolution, company shares were split between these companies (49%) and NOC (51%). In 1974, Shell declined to sign this agreement and NOC bought their shares, making the split 59-41%. This resulted in the formation of Oasis Oil Company. In 1986, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan issued an Executive Order to all U.S. oil companies to withdraw from Libya. This led to an agreement between NOC and the U.S. oil companies to freeze previous agreements for three years, pending review. However, once economic sanctions were established they never returned. After this, NOC became the sole owner of WOC. In 2002, the previous parties involved re-established communications with NOC and WOC.

Petroleum industry

The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline (petrol). Petroleum (oil) is also the raw material for many chemical products, including pharmaceuticals, solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, and plastics. The industry is usually divided into three major components: upstream, midstream and downstream. Midstream operations are usually included in the downstream category.

Petroleum is vital to many industries, and is of importance to the maintenance of industrial civilization in its current configuration, and thus is a critical concern for many nations. Oil accounts for a large percentage of the world’s energy consumption, ranging from a low of 32% for Europe and Asia, to a high of 53% for the Middle East.

Other geographic regions' consumption patterns are as follows: South and Central America (44%), Africa (41%), and North America (40%). The world consumes 30 billion barrels (4.8 km³) of oil per year, with developed nations being the largest consumers. The United States consumed 25% of the oil produced in 2007. The production, distribution, refining, and retailing of petroleum taken as a whole represents the world's largest industry in terms of dollar value.

Waha

Waha is a Belgian village located in the Province of Luxembourg in Wallonia. In 1977 the village merged with Aye, Hargimon, Humain, Marche-en-Famenne, Marloie, On, Champlon and Roy to form the municipality of Marche-en-Famenne.

Etymology

The name "Waha" comes from the Celtic proper name "Wachart". The Latin name of the location was "Wachardi mansus", meaning "Wachart's dwelling".

History

Waha in the 10th century belonged to the territory of count Immon. The first church was built only 100 meters from the present church and was dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. In 1050 the present church of Saint Étienne was dedicated by the Liège bishop Theodwin (French: Théoduin).

The collegiate chapter of Saint Étienne was dissolved during the time of the French First Republic.

Art historical significance

The church of Saint Étienne in Waha is one of the oldest Romanesque churches in Belgium. The nave of the church is only four arches long. The choir has a rectangular shape and is unvaulted. It is also lower than the nave ceiling, which is not uncommon in early Mosan architecture. The westwork tower is slightly younger than the rest of the church.