Libya needs between $36 billion and $40 billion in foreign investment to expand its oil industry and raise output to 2 million barrels daily by the early 2030s, the Financial Times has reported, citing National Oil Corporation chairman Masoud Suleman.
The ambition to boost production to 2 million barrels daily has been front and center for the conflict-torn country that remains heavily dependent on oil revenues. Earlier this month, the head of the National Oil Corporation reiterated that this is the plan for the company, after the country’s parliament finally passed a unified budget for the current year.
The budget includes a $2-billion lifeline for the National Oil Corporation that will help it pursue its production growth plans. “The era of delayed funding, which used to cause problems and concerns, both for us and our partners, is now behind us,” NOC chairman Masoud Suleman told Bloomberg in an interview earlier this month. The budget plans and the payments make NOC more confident in attracting investments in the country’s oil and gas sector, the top official also said.
The National Oil Corporation is already working on its plans, resuming oil tenders last year, after almost two decades of no tender activity amid a protracted civil war that made most international oil companies leave the North African country that is estimated to hold the most abundant oil resources on the continent.
Now, Big Oil is returning. In June, NOC formally signed exploration and production-sharing agreements from its 2025 bid round with international companies including Repsol, Turkish Petroleum, Eni, QatarEnergy, and MOL, marking the country’s first major licensing push in 17 years. BP, Shell, Exxon, and Chevron are also returning to Libya as the security situation stabilizes, even though oil fields and infrastructure remain a top target for various groups seeking to apply pressure on the government. Just recently, NOC had to declare force majeure on an oil export terminal following drone strikes.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
- U.S.-Iran Tensions Push Oil Prices Higher as Diesel Margins Hit Records
- China’s Renewables Boom Faces Record Clean Power Curtailments
- Libya Power Crisis Explodes as Grid Fails Again
