Libya Relaunches Oil Exploration After 17 Years, Aiming to Attract New Investments and Modernize Energy Sector
Despite persistent political instability, Libya is relaunching oil exploration after a 17-year hiatus, with the goal of attracting new investments and modernizing its energy sector. The country has issued a call for tenders for oil exploration, the first initiative of its kind since 2008. Masoud Suleiman, the interim president of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), announced that the state-owned oil company will oversee the process, with details such as participation conditions and launch date still to be defined.
Despite a challenging political context and tensions between rival governments in the East and West of the country, companies like Italian ENI, Austrian OMV, British BP, and Spanish Repsol have resumed their exploration activities in 2023, demonstrating confidence in Libya's energy potential. This gradual resumption follows a month-long interruption in oil production, which had seen output halve to around 700,000 barrels per day in August.
Libya's oil sector still faces numerous challenges to achieve full stability. While production resumed slowly in October, the country remains in need of massive investments to increase its production capacity. Interim Oil Minister Khalifa Abdel-Sadiq estimated in January that Libya requires between $3 and $4 billion to reach a production target of 1.6 million barrels per day, an ambitious goal that could revitalize the national economy. Currently, production stands at around 1.4 million barrels per day, slightly below pre-civil war levels.
