Libya awarded oil and gas exploration blocks to foreign firms on Wednesday, including a subsidiary of the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), in the North African nation's first licensing round in nearly two decades.
The National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced the winners of its first bidding round since 2007, allocating key acreage across the onshore Sirte and Murzuq basins and the offshore Sirte basin in the gas-rich Mediterranean.
The hydrocarbon-rich country is seeking to draw major global energy companies back, while boosting daily oil production by 850,000 barrels over the next 25 years.
This marks "a return of trust and resuming institutional work in one of the country's most important sectors after a long time of pause and challenges," Masoud Suleman, head of the NOC, said during the announcement ceremony.
The NOC chief also promised "integrity, transparency, equal opportunities" and to "maximize national returns."
A consortium comprising Turkish Oil Petroleum Company (TOPC), an international arm of Türkiye's state-owned TPAO, and Spain's Repsol won an exploration license for Libya's C3 basin, the NOC said.
A separate consortium of TOPC, Repsol and Hungary's MOL offered the leading bid for the Offshore Area 07.
Italy’s Eni and QatarEnergy secured rights to Offshore Area 01, strengthening a strategic partnership between them that has expanded across the Mediterranean.
U.S. major Chevron secured the Sirte S4 exploration license, marking a significant return to Libya’s most prolific onshore basin.
In the southern Murzuq basin, Nigeria’s Aiteo won the M1 license, representing a rare entry by an African independent into the country’s upstream sector.
Oil and Gas Minister Khalifa Abdulsadek said last month that Türkiye could play a "key role" in offshore energy development in Libya.
After his talks in Tripoli last month, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said 2026 would be a "landmark year" in Türkiye-Libya cooperation. "It will be the energy year," he said.
Libya is one of Africa's biggest oil producers and a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Foreign investors have been wary of putting money into Libya, which plunged into chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.
It remains divided between the U.N.-recognized government in the west and its eastern rival, backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar.
Disputes between them over oil revenues have often led to oilfield shutdowns and output disruptions.
Libya currently produces around 1.5 million barrels a day, sitting on Africa's largest oil reserves at an estimated 48.4 billion barrels.
"Today's announcements are not merely technical or administrative," NOC's Suleman said. "They are part of a broader national path that aims for prosperity, growth, the return of normalcy."
Last month, Libya signed agreements worth more than $20 billion of investment by TotalEnergies and ConocoPhillips, to increase oil production within 25 years.
