Libya’s NOC reviews Polish firm PUNA’s exploration plans for 2025–26 in Murzuq Basin

Libya’s state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) held a technical meeting on November 27 with Puna Oil Company to review the Polish firm’s exploration activities for 2025 and its planned programmes for 2026 in the Murzuq Basin.

The NOC said the meeting at its Tripoli headquarters focused on seismic plans, drilling timelines and coordination of technical requirements for the upcoming exploration phases.

Puna—PGNiG Upstream North Africa B.V.—is a subsidiary of Poland’s ORLEN Group (WSE:PKN), the country’s largest integrated energy company. ORLEN inherited PGNiG’s Libyan upstream assets following its consolidation of several state-owned energy companies. PGNiG first entered Libyan acreage in the mid-2000s.

The Polish company said it will fulfil its remaining exploration obligations by drilling six exploratory wells over the next three years under Libya’s Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) framework. These obligations are overseen by NOC’s Exploration Department, which monitors minimum work commitments across all concessions.

The Murzuq Basin has yielded several major discoveries since the 1990s—most notably the Sharara Field—producing high-quality light crude. Exploration activity has fluctuated, particularly after 2011, due to security conditions, restricted access and logistical challenges that vary by block and season.

The NOC has prioritised reviving exploration across underdeveloped basins such as Murzuq and Ghadames to diversify future supply beyond the mature Sirte Basin. Improvements in south-western logistical corridors have supported the restart of field surveys that had been delayed in previous years, although access conditions remain uneven.

NOC said both sides agreed to maintain close technical coordination to support the basin’s long-term exploration potential and ensure timely execution of forthcoming drilling programmes.