TRIPOLI, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The North African branch of

Italian energy company Eni has resumed its exploration

drilling in an offshore area northwest of Libya after a

five-year hiatus, the Libyan state-run National Oil Corporation

(NOC) said on Sunday.

In 2024, Eni and British oil giant BP have resumed

exploration in Libya after onshore drilling was halted in 2014,

the year when the North African country's civil war erupted and

divided the country between two administrations.

Eni resumed operations in a well where drilling operations

were halted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NOC said.