Libya's NOC signs production-sharing deals with energy majors

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) has signed production-sharing agreements with several leading international companies following the country's first licensing round in nearly 20 years, NOC Chairman Masoud Suleiman told AL Sharq Al Awsat.

Suleiman said the agreements were signed with Spain's Repsol (BME:REP), Italy's Eni (BIT:ENI), QatarEnergy, and a consortium comprising Hungary's MOL Group (BSE:MOL) and Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO). The deals follow the public tender round Libya launched in 2025, under which the NOC awarded exploration areas to foreign companies as part of the OPEC member's effort to attract investment and raise production capacity to 2mn barrels per day from around 1.4mn bpd currently.

Suleiman said the agreements form part of efforts to boost exploration and development activity, attract quality investment, and support plans to raise output in a way that generates added value for the national economy.

Libya awarded exploration licences in February to companies including Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Eni, QatarEnergy, and Repsol in its first licensing round since 2007, despite ongoing political divisions between rival administrations in the east and west.

Libya’s oil production has faced several challenges in recent years due to political instability. Systemic institutional fragmentation and recurring battles in the country over central bank revenue distribution frequently trigger localised blockades, abruptly taking hundreds of thousands of barrels offline despite a baseline push toward record production levels.