Giant oil and commodity traders, including Vitol and Trafigura, alongside French Oil & Gas multinational TotalEnergies (NYSE:TTE), have won tenders to supply Libya with diesel and gasoline in a clear effort to cut imports of Russian fuel, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Libya is moving to reboot its oil sector, 15 years after the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi fractured the country’s energy infrastructure and investment climate. Authorities are targeting an increase in crude production from around 1.4 million barrels per day to 1.6 million bpd by the end of 2026, with output aimed at 2 million bpd between 2028 and 2030.
The push comes as Libya seeks to reassert itself as a key Mediterranean supplier. The country holds more than 48 billion barrels of proven reserves, most of which is high-quality, light-sweet crude that typically commands strong demand, in addition to sizable natural gas resources that remain underdeveloped.
A week ago, Libya concluded its first major licensing round in 17 years, awarding five exploration blocks to Western oil majors Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX), Italy’s Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E), Spain’s Repsol S.A. (OTCQX:REPYY), QatarEnergy and Nigeria’s Aiteo. The government also recently signed a $20 billion, 25-year landmark deal with ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and TotalEnergies to modernize infrastructure and boost production capacity at the Waha Oil Company.
Further, Libya is aggressively expanding its natural gas production to reach roughly 1 Bscf/d (10 bcm/year) by 2030, aiming to boost exports to Europe via the Greenstream pipeline and fuel domestic industrial growth. Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) has confirmed plans to begin unconventional and shale gas exploration in the second half of 2026. This initiative is part of a broader strategy announced by NOC Chairman Masoud Suleiman at the LNG2026 conference in
February 2026 to leverage the country’s estimated 80 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves.
Western oil majors are making a significant comeback to Libya after a nearly 20-year layoff thanks in large part to renewed stability following the 2020 ceasefire facilitating new investments. The government is offering more attractive fiscal conditions for production-sharing agreements to international oil companies (IOCs) to lure them in.
By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com
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