Salma El Wardany and Hatem Mohareb
Takeaways
- Chevron Corp., Eni SpA, QatarEnergy and Repsol SA were among major energy companies that won rights to explore for oil and gas in Libya.
- The country’s state-owned National Oil Corp. announced the results of the auction for blocks both on land and out in water in the first tender of licenses since 2007.
- Libya energy officials said they aim to boost the country’s crude output to 2 million barrels a day by 2030, from 1.4 million currently, offering new production-sharing agreements with enhanced fiscal terms.
Chevron Corp., Eni SpA, QatarEnergy and Repsol SA were among major energy companies that won rights to explore for oil and gas in Libya, the latest sign that the nation that holds Africa’s largest crude reserves is opening up for investments following years of civil war.
The country’s state-owned National Oil Corp. announced the results of the auction for blocks both on land and out in water in the first tender of licenses since 2007. Of the 20 exploration blocks that were offered, only five received valid bids, and officials pledged to make improvements for the next bidding round.
The interest in the OPEC nation, still divided between rival eastern and western governments, comes as energy majors seek to boost reserves following forecasts that demand for crude will remain strong for longer because of a slower energy transition. President Donald Trump’s assertive foreign policy is also giving US oil companies confidence to strike deals and expand in politically sensitive countries like Iraq and Libya.
While some major producers such as Eni and France’s TotalEnergies SE continued to invest in Libya through the war, many were spooked by the instability that had energy facilities at the heart of the conflict.
Chevron secured an exploration license in the Sirte basin, marking a significant return to Libya’s most prolific onshore area, while Italy’s Eni, QatarEnergy and a consortium of Spain’s Repsol, Turkiye Petrolleri AO and Hungary’s Mol Nyrt. also won offshore licenses.
The 20 exploration blocks, which were put for auction about a year ago, hold an estimated 10 billion barrels of available resources and 18 billion barrels yet to be discovered.
The NOC said in a live-streamed awarding ceremony that it will review invalid bids received in other blocks to continue talks with the interested investors, and will study areas that haven’t received any bids to review and enhance the terms so that they can be offered anew in the next bidding round.
“There will be a new bidding round soon, expected to be this year after completing some arrangements and obtaining necessary approvals,” NOC Chairman Masoud Suleiman said in a phone interview. “Negotiations will take place to improve terms and reach an understanding between the tender committee and international investors.”
Libya energy officials said they aim to boost the country’s crude output to 2 million barrels a day by 2030, from 1.4 million currently, offering new production-sharing agreements with enhanced fiscal terms, simplified cost recovery and clearer profit sharing.
There’s already been some success with TotalEnergies and ConocoPhillips last month signing deals to more than double production capacity of their Waha Oil venture, with investments likely to reach $20 billion over 25 years.
The NOC’s chairman said in a conference in Qatar last week his country also aims to increase piped gas exports to Europe, which had largely stopped in recent years, by the end of the decade.
Libya’s last previous exploration tender was held four years before an uprising against Moammar Al Qaddafi sparked over a decade of upheaval. Before 2011, Libya was producing 1.6 million to 1.8 million barrels a day, before it was hit by political divisions that saw periodic oil and gas infrastructure shutdowns by various groups pressing for political or economic demands.
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