Tripoli
Libya’s upstream promise still hamstrung by instability
But the troubled north African nation is not short of international investment interest
Soon after Libyan oil minister Mohamed Oun spoke to Petroleum Economist in late September, Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) signed a memorandum of understanding with Norway’s Equinor with the stated aim “to study and evaluate the oil and gas potential in the Libyan maritime region”. The deal was signed in Tripoli and included provisions to train young Libyans for the oil and gas sector. Equinor has been active in Libya for decades and holds non-operating stakes in the Murzuq Basin and the Mabruk field, where production was suspended following a 2015 militant attack. The Norwegian firm also stated that “more recently, our engagement in lifting and marketing Libyan crude oil has become a
Also in this section
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
14 January 2026
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution
