The Minister of Oil and Gas of the Government of National Unity, Khalifa Abdul Sadiq, confirmed the ministry's intention to conduct a new round of bidding for oil and natural gas exploration, the first since 2011, with plans to implement oil projects worth $17 billion, and raise oil production to two million barrels per day by 2028.
Abdul-Sadiq said, in an interview with Bloomberg, that the authorities in Libya will offer onshore and offshore areas in a new round of bidding, either at the end of this year or early 2025. He explained that these areas will include the Sirte Basin, Murzuq, and Ghadames Basin, indicating that oil production has recovered to more than 1.3 million barrels per day, the highest level in years.
In addition, the development of fields that have already been evaluated may raise this number to 1.6 million by the end of 2025, he said, adding that talks are underway with five international oil companies that have shown great interest in returning and working inside Libya next year, but he refused to reveal the names of those companies.
“We are working with Suncor, TotalEnergies, Wintershall and other companies to resume exploration activities in the country. Meanwhile, Algeria’s Sonatrach will start drilling sometime this year or early next year,” the Minister said.
Regarding the repeated oil shutdowns that have plagued Libya’s oil sector, he said: “Oil shutdowns are a nightmare for us. When ports are closed, water seeps in, causing corrosion and weakening the infrastructure.”
The minister revealed plans to implement projects worth $17 billion in the coming years to modernize and build new infrastructure, and develop fields that have been evaluated, which could result in an increase in production by 300,000 barrels per day.
"Libya aims to produce 1.4 million barrels by the end of this year, 1.7 million by the end of 2027, and 2 million by 2028," he said.
