Big Oil Is Back to Business in Libya
- Libya’s NOC signed new agreements with BP and Shell to explore and assess oil and gas fields including Messla, Sarir, and al-Atshan.
- BP plans to reopen its Tripoli office by Q4 2025 as part of its return to operations in Libya.
- Global supermajors including ExxonMobil, Chevron, TotalEnergies, and Eni are participating in Libya’s first oil exploration tender since 2007.
Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) has signed agreements with supermajors BP and Shell to explore and evaluate the oil and gas potential of several fields in the African country, marking another step in Big Oil returning to doing business in Libya.
NOC signed this week a memorandum of understanding with BP under which the UK-based supermajor will conduct studies to assess the potential for hydrocarbon exploration and production in the Messla and Sarir fields, as well as in some surrounding exploration areas.
Separately, the Libyan oil corporation has reached an agreement with Shell for the oil and gas major to evaluate hydrocarbon prospects and conduct a comprehensive technical and economic feasibility study to develop the al-Atshan field and other fields fully owned by the NOC, excluding any areas where third parties, other than the NOC and Shell, have rights.
NOC also confirmed that BP intends to resume operations in Libya and reopen its office in the capital, Tripoli, by the fourth quarter of 2025, to manage its projects and closely supervise their progress in the country.
BP and Eni returned to Libya last year after a decade of avoiding the country amid its civil war.
After a 10-year hiatus, U.S. oilfield services provider Weatherford also returned to work in Libya earlier this year.
Moreover, supermajors ExxonMobil, Chevron, TotalEnergies, and Eni are competing in Libya’s first oil bid round in 18 years, NOC chairman Masoud Suleman told Bloomberg last week.
Libya earlier this year launched its first oil and gas exploration tender since 2007, which is also the first since the civil war erupted in the country in 2011 after the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi.
Exxon, Chevron, TotalEnergies, and Eni are among the 37 international companies that have expressed interest in Libyan acreage for oil and gas exploration, NOC’s Suleman told Bloomberg.
“Almost all well-known international companies” are competing for the 22 offshore and onshore blocks on offer, the executive added.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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