Global majors, Eni and bp have signed an agreement with the Libyan National Oil Company (NOC) to kickstart a series of natural gas exploration and production campaigns in the Mediterranean.
With the blocks in which the two majors are set to exploit expected to be holding sizeable natural gas reserves – bigger than that of Egypt’s Zohr field – the development is expected to enable Libya to unlock massive revenue from its hydrocarbon industry to fuel economic expansion at a time when the country is eyeing to achieve up to $37 billion in annual revenue from the oil industry in 2022 – the country’s highest since 2013.
According to Farhat Bengdara, the Chairman of the NOC, the agreement will revitalize the country’s gas investments as Libya targets to increase the participation of foreign energy companies and investors as well as the private sector to maximize the exploitation of its 80 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. With the demand for natural gas increasing heavily in Europe – as Europe diversifies supply away from Russia due to the Russian-Ukraine war – the projects with bp and Eni have the potential to boost the country’s resource monetization.
The development comes at a time when Libya’s hydrocarbon production is being negatively impacted by political instability. In 2022 alone, instability has seen a wave of port closures and production halts, with oil production expected to range below 985,000 barrels per day, according to the African Energy Chamber. As such, up to $4 billion in investment is required to optimize production, according to Bengdara.
