Libya issues rare oil exploration licences to foreign firms

Winning bidders include Chevron, Eni, QatarEnergy and Aiteo.Published On 11 Feb 2026Libya has assigned new oil and gas exploration rights to foreign firms, aiming to revamp the sector after years of civil strife.The country’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced the results of its first licensing round since 2007 on Wednesday. Winners included US oil giant Chevron and Africa’s largest privately-owned energy company, Nigeria’s Aiteo.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Only 13 survivors from capsized boat carrying 74 refugees off Libyalist 2 of 3Venezuela has the world’s most oil: Why doesn’t it earn more from exports?list 3 of 3Can new Africa Energy Bank power a continent while protecting the planet?end of listOther winning bidders were consortia: Spain’s Repsol with British Petroleum, Eni North Africa with QatarEnergy, and Repsol with Hungary’s MOLGroup and Turkiye Petrolleri.The licensing awards signal some renewed interest in Libya’s oil sector, which foreign investors had long been wary of after the country erupted into conflict in 2011 with the overthrow of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi. But experts said the response was smaller than expected.“It is likely that lingering uncertainty over Libya’s political dysfunction and insecurity in the areas around the blocks on offer were factors in the underwhelming response,” Hamish Kinnear, an analyst with UK-based risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, told the AFP news agency.Masoud Suleiman Musa, acting chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corporation, and other corporate representatives attend a conference announcing grants of oil exploration and production licences, in Tripoli, Libya, February 11 [Mahmud Turkia/AFP]Libya remains politically divided between rival administrations in the east and west, and disputes over the central ‌bank and oil revenues often disrupt production at key oil fields.