Beleaguered North African oil producer Libya is set to announce within months its first oil and gas exploration bid round since the civil war began in 2011, Libyan Oil Minister Khalifa Abdul Sadiq told Bloomberg in an interview.
OPEC member Libya plans to offer blocks both onshore and offshore in the tender expected by the end of 2024 or in early 2025, the official told Bloomberg. The blocks up for grabs are located in the Sirte, Murzuq, and Ghadames basins, Sadiq added.
Libya’s previous oil and gas exploration tender was held as far back as in 2007. This was four years before the toppling of Muammar Ghaddafi in 2011, which led to a protracted civil war in the country with various factions and tribal interests vying for control of key institutions and major oilfields.
As a result of the conflict, oil production in Libya has often suffered in recent years, to the point of OPEC exempting the North African producer from the OPEC+ production quota agreements.
In August and September this year, Libya’s oil production was decimated after the country’s two rival administrations locked horns over the appointment of a new central bank governor. Since the central bank handles Libya’s oil revenues, both governments wanted their own man at the top position. The eastern government, which controls most of Libya’s oil fields through affiliated armed groups, said production would be suspended until a compromise is found and promptly proceeded to carry out its threat.
So Libya had most of its output halted for the whole month of September.
Oil production resumed in early October and has now exceeded pre-crisis levels and hit 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd), the highest in years, Libya’s oil minister told Bloomberg.
The country could boost its output to 1.6 million bpd by the end of 2025 with the planned development of already appraised oilfields, he added.
In a sign of returning confidence from the oil majors, BP and Eni have recently returned to Libya after ten years of avoiding the country amid its civil war.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com