Medserv, the company that provides services and support to the offshore oil and gas industry operating mainly in the Mediterranean basin with a focus on the industry’s activities in North Africa, said in a directors’ report on the half year that it is ready to restart operations from Misurata as soon as possible.

Both the Malta base and the Libya base in Misurata have been affected by the continuing instability in Libya. On the one hand, the Malta base has benefited by being seen as a reliable and safe haven for the relocation of oil field equipment and for facilitating the repatriation of staff employed by oil companies.

The Malta base was responsible for evacuating most of the workers who were on the oil platforms offshore Libya.

On the other hand, the Misurata base has not operated fully for some months. Having said that, there is a substantial amount of equipment owned by oil companies on the base which remains undamaged and for which storage is being charged.

The group’s turnover for the six-month period ended 30 June 2011 amounted to €3,914,590 compared to €7,201,536 registered in the comparative period to 30 June 2010.

The group registered a profit before tax of €141,137 compared to €147,753 achieved in the six month period to 30 June 2010. After providing for income tax, the net profit for the period to 30 June 2011 amounted to €125,697 when compared to €196,112 for the six-month period ended on 30 June 2010.

The group’s results for the first half of the year are lower than forecast with turnover substantially lower than that of the comparative six-month period.

However profit margins on some of the group’s activities were higher than expected due to the uncertainty in Libya, which when added to the introduction of strict cost controls and the revised accounting estimates of the useful life of plant and equipment, resulted in the group approaching the level of profits before tax achieved in the comparative six-month period.

The directors said they are kept informed about the status of the group’s assets on the Misurata base on a regular basis and to date it appears that while there has been damage this is not serious, most of which can be repaired.

There are no Maltese staff in Misurata at present, but Libyan employees report for duty when possible and they have taken steps to protect the base and the company’s and clients’ property as best they can.

The group is ready to restart operations in Misurata as soon as it is deemed safe to do so and when clients return.

As regards existing offshore oil and gas platforms, it is considered that these will be the first operations to restart and that these will be in the main served from the Malta base.

The group also looks forward to restarting the planned programme for drilling production wells in the offshore Bouri field when hostilities cease, and to the commencement of existing planned programmes of international oil companies for which Medserv already has signed contracts.

In the meantime, the group will continue with its cost reduction programme in order to safeguard the company’s financial position and to ensure it is able to react speedily to any positive developments in Libya.

Negotiations on shareholders and management agreements with the Sicilian partners TEA Shipping SRL have been successfully concluded.

A number of business opportunities both for offshore mainland Italy and also for Sicily have been identified and a business plan has been formulated.

While the timing of the eventual ceasing of hostilities in Libya remains uncertain, the group remains well placed to benefit from resuming operations in the Libyan oil industry.

No interim dividends are being recommended.