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