Eni was the largest foreign oil producer in the North African country before the civil war and is keen to mend relations with rebel leaders, after hesitant Italian support for the uprising in its early stages.

“The memorandum signed today is confirmation of the solid relations between Eni and the NTC (rebel government) who are evaluating various possible forms of cooperation to ensure the timely resumption of operations in the oil and gas sector,” Eni said in a statement.

The agreement followed a meeting in Benghazi between members of the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) and Eni Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni, the first oil chief to visit the country since the rebels took Tripoli.

Scaroni’s trip to the eastern rebel stronghold was widely seen as an effort to secure Eni’s stake in a post-Qaddafi Libya. The country has Africa’s biggest oil reserves and its crude accounts for 13 percent of Eni’s revenue.

Eni said it and the NTC were committed to a fast and complete resumption of Eni’s oil and gas operations.

Under the deal signed on Monday Eni will supply refined oil products to the NTC to meet the immediate needs of the Libyan people.

Scaroni said recently Eni would supply Libya with petrol and diesel fuel from Italian refineries in exchange for “future payments in oil which we will receive when the oil fields have restarted.”

Oil traders said Eni was seeking to book a tanker for arrival in Libya this week.

Eni, in Libya since 1959, produced about 270,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2010. Its oil production contracts are in force to 2042 and gas contracts to 2047.

Eni will provide technical assistance to rebel authorities to assess the damage to energy infrastructure. It is also supplying the NTC with medical equipment.

Brent crude oil rose above $112 on Monday as the dollar weakened and after hurricane Irene swept up the US East Coast, with no reports so far of serious damage to refineries and terminals.

Also on Monday, Libya’s central bank governor told Arabiya television that his country will take a close look at its currency to determine whether it should be kept and exchange rates maintained,.

Mohammed al Zarroug Rajab was appointed central bank governor in April after his predecessor left the country, the Jana news agency reported at the time.

“In the coming days we need to reassess the value of the Libyan dinar for the benefit of the Libyan people,” Rajab said in the televised interview, responding to a question over whether the dinar, which features Qaddafi’s face, should be kept.

Rajab, who said that Libya’s assets remained safe, did not elaborate on what he meant by reassessing the currency.