TRIPOLI (Realist English). Libya has awarded new oil and gas exploration and production licences to foreign energy companies in its first bidding round since 2007, the country’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced on Wednesday.
Winners include US oil major Chevron and Nigeria’s privately owned energy firm Aiteo. Successful consortia also involve Repsol with BP; Eni North Africa with QatarEnergy; and Repsol together with MOL Group and Turkiye Petrolleri.
Five of the 20 blocks offered were awarded, underscoring a cautious return of foreign interest in Libya’s hydrocarbons sector after years of instability following the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi. The country remains politically divided between rival administrations in the east and west, and disputes over oil revenues and control of the central bank have repeatedly disrupted production.
Hamish Kinnear, an analyst at UK-based risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, told AFP that persistent political uncertainty and security risks around some of the blocks likely limited participation.
The licensing round follows a $20bn agreement signed last month with TotalEnergies and ConocoPhillips aimed at expanding production over 25 years. Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah said the government intends to raise daily output by 850,000 barrels within that period. Libya currently produces around 1.4 million barrels per day.
Officials said the latest tender used a revised, more investor-friendly contract model designed to replace earlier rigid terms that discouraged investment. Acting NOC chairman Masoud Suleiman Musa said a committee would be established to further improve bidding conditions and negotiate the allocation of remaining blocks.
The awards mark a tentative step toward rebuilding investor confidence in one of Africa’s largest oil producers. However, sustained production growth will depend less on revised contract terms than on Libya’s ability to ensure political stability and uninterrupted operations in its key oil fields.