Libya: Oil and Gas Sector to Suffer Instability, Hindering Plans to Raise Production

The oil and gas sector in Libya faces some difficulties and obstacles, particularly financial challenges and political instability, which negatively impact the results of ambitious plans to increase production.

There is no doubt that repeated protests in some areas of the Libyan oil and gas sector have disrupted crude oil exports, mostly light sweet crudes from the main eastern ports of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf.

Despite these conditions, Libyan crude oil production has shown some increase in 2024, reaching approximately 1.3 million barrels per day, its highest level since 2013. This increase was due to the resumption of exploratory drilling activities and operations by major foreign companies operating in Libya (Eni, BP, and OMV), which had been halted for years.

This improvement in production has revived hopes of increasing Libyan crude production to two million barrels per day by the end of 2025, although this appears unlikely given the ongoing instability in this vital sector.

It’s worth noting that Zallaf Oil and Gas, a subsidiary of the National Oil Corporation, recently announced the commencement of production from the Chadar field, located in the southeastern part of the Sirte Basin, the center of the country’s oil industry. According to the corporation’s figures, the field produces approximately 1,500 barrels per day of crude oil and 7.5 million cubic feet per day of natural gas.