By: Energy capital & power

Libya is preparing to launch its 2025 international bid round, focusing on attracting investments in brownfield assets as well as large-scale gas developments. With a goal to increase production to two million barrels per day (bpd) in the next three years, the bid round is expected to facilitate greater investment in both onshore and offshore acreage.

Presentations by the Ministry of Oil and Gas and the National Oil Corporation (NOC) at the launch event of the Libyan NOCs Exploration Bid Round 2025 on March 3 offered technical insights into Libya’s oil and gas portfolio as well as the country’s strategic roadmap for achieving its production target. A central focus of this strategy is to rejuvenate mature fields, enhance production capacity and diversify the energy mix.

In the oil sector, the country is focusing on developing brownfields, which contain significant oil reserves and offer substantial opportunities to boost output. This approach, according to an NOC presentation, safeguards future revenue streams and underpins national economic stability. The government is actively partnering with international energy companies to attract investment in upstream projects, resume exploration and discover new oil and gas resources to replace depleted reserves.

The upcoming bid round will feature both on- and offshore blocks, will maximize resource development and ensure a high reserve to replacement ratio. A strategic focus will be on enticing exploration in medium- to high-risk and deep offshore areas; developing undeveloped discoveries and greenfield projects; implementing IOR/EOR techniques across mature brownfields and implementing niche-technology for focused exploration.

Currently, Libya has 167 active contractual blocks, 18 active operators and 409,000 km² of total acreage under contractual blocks. On the exploration front, the country has a success rate of 33% above the world average of 21%. An aggressive drilling campaign is required to meet the resource addition target and maintain the success rate. To date, 3,120 exploration wells have been drilled of which 951 were successful. Average production has measured 1.4 million bpd.

Meanwhile, Libya has placed gas development as a central component of the country’s energy transition strategy. The country views gas not only as a bridge fuel but a destination fuel. As such, the country is advancing large-scale gas developments to diversify the energy matrix. With over 79 trillion cubic feet of gas, Libya has the potential to emerge as a key regional LNG player, yet gas monetization requires significant investment. The upcoming licensing round will support these goals by attracting a new wave of investment in Libya’s upstream oil and gas market.