Established in 1981, it was known by the company name ESSO Standard Libya, which was the earliest company that found oil in Libya in commercial quantities in Zelten Field in 1959, which encouraged other oil companies to invest in oil exploration in the Libyan desert.
After the withdrawal of Exxon’s parent company Esso Standard from Libya in 1981, the company was renamed Sirte Oil Company and became a national firm belonging to the National Oil Corporation fully owned by the State.
In the framework of the integration of manufacturing processes of oil and gas, the coastal gas line( Brega—Khoms) dependency was transferred to Sirte Oil Company, as the company was merged with The National Company For Petrochemicals in 1990 , and was given the new name (Sirte Oil Company For Production & Manufacturing of Oil and Gas) which includes activities, such as: (Exploration – Production and Extraction of oil and gas – Refining of crude oil – Natural Gas Liquidization – Petrochemical Manufacturing – Supplying factories and power stations and desalination plants with natural gas).