David Paganie * Chief Editor
Libya is eyeing a new bid round for oil and gas leases in late 2024/early 2025, as a means of encouraging international investors to help increase its domestic production.
While the exact terms of the round are unknown, Libya’s newly appointed minister of oil and gas, Khalifa Rajab Abdulsadek, used Gastech in Houston as a platform to promote the upcoming investment opportunities.
“We are open for business and looking for investors,” he said. He pointed to the country’s wealth of natural resources and improving fiscal terms as incentives to participate. According to EIA data, Libya is a top ten global proved oil reserve holder and top five proved gas reserve holder in Africa. But its domestic production has been declining.
The upcoming bid round is intended to support Libya’s goal to double its domestic production over the next 3-5 years, to about 2 MMb/d. But an estimated $4 billion in local infrastructure improvements will be required to achieve this target, according to a recent report by Wood Mackenzie.
International investors in oil and gas have largely avoided Libya in recent years, due to its challenging fiscal terms and regional geopolitics. Though, Eni has been one of the exceptions. The operator launched the development of two gas fields, Structures A&E, offshore Libya in 2023. The combined gas production from the two structures is expected to start in 2026 and reach a plateau of 750 MMcf/d.
The project also includes the construction of a CCS facility at Mellitah, to reduce the development’s carbon footprint. Libya’s minister of oil and gas told the audience at Gastech that it aims to eliminate routine flaring by 2030.
Libya’s upcoming bid round for oil and gas leases will be its first since 2005.
