Car bomb hits Libya HQ of Italian firm behind 'giant' Egypt gas discovery

A car bomb exploded in the Libyan capital on Monday, targeting the office of an Italian gas firm that announced the discovery of a huge new gas field off the coast of Egypt a day earlier.

The explosion hit on Monday afternoon in a central district of Tripoli, a city currently controlled by one of Libya’s rival parliaments, the General National Congress (GNC).

One local resident was injured by flying shrapnel following the attack, according to an interior ministry spokesperson.

Photos purportedly from the scene showed black smoke billowing from the shell of the burnt-out car bomb, while the windows of neighbouring cars were left shattered.

The explosion took place close to the embassies of Algeria and Saudi Arabia in the upscale neighbourhood of al-Zahra.

The attack reportedly targeted the headquarters of ENI, a day after the Italian energy giant announced the discovery of a “super-giant” natural gas field off the Egyptian coast.

ENI, which has worked in Egypt since 1954, said on Sunday that the site was “the largest gas discovery ever made ... in the Mediterranean Sea”.

The field, equivalent to 45 percent of Egypt’s total gas reserves, could be hugely significant for the country’s stumbling economic recovery.

ENI has promised that the site will be fully operational within three years.

“This brings potential relief to the country’s energy situation in terms of both availability and price,” Mohamed Abu Basha, Egypt economist at EFG Hermes, told the Financial Times. 

“It is also potentially a source of foreign exchange.” 

Egyptians have suffered regular blackouts in recent years after the country went from exporting natural gas to becoming a net importer following mismanagement of the sector.

No group had yet claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack at the time of publication, and the reason for the targeting has not been confirmed.

ENI has commented on the explosion on social media, saying only that the attack had caused “no significant damage to the office buildings”.

ENI is one of the few foreign companies still working in Libya, which has been gripped by years of chaos since the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

UN envoy to Libya Bernadino Leon last week urged the country’s rival parliaments that they must reach a deal within a fortnight.

Leon will meet on Tuesday with representatives of the GNC ahead of a new round of peace talks scheduled to begin in Geneva on Thursday.