Italian state-controlled energy giant ENI said Monday it has resumed oil production in Libya months after the conflict in the North African country brought its operations to a halt.
"Eni restarts production in 15 Libyan wells in Abu-Attifel, located at 300 kilometres south of Benghazi," the company said in a statement released in Milan, dpa reported.
"Abu-Attifel field was the first 'giant oil field' discovered in Libya by Eni in the 1960's," according to the statement.
Eni has been active in Libya since 1959, where it says it is the the largest foreign investor in terms of hydrocarbon production.
In recent years Italy had cultivated closer ties with its former colony, culminating in a 2008 friendship treaty signed by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the then Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi.
However, in March Italy suspended the treaty and joined a NATO air campaign against Gaddafi's forces who had been accused of targeting civilians in their attempt to crush a rebel uprising.
The rebels have since gained control of most of the country while Gaddafi remains a fugitive