Libya’s latest upstream licensing round has already attracted more than 40 applicants, a signal of the country’s re-entry into the global energy arena and growing interest in its largely untapped hydrocarbon potential. This update was shared by Abdolkabir Alfakhry, Advisor to Libya’s Minister of Oil and Gas, during a session sponsored by ConocoPhillips at the Invest in African Energy Forum in Paris on Wednesday.
“More than 40 companies have already applied to the bid round,” said Alfakhry, noting that results are expected around November. “This will open a new environment for international companies to work in Libya.”
Framing Libya’s assets as underexplored, particularly offshore, Alfakhry pointed to the country’s strategic location on the Mediterranean and its proximity to European markets as key competitive advantages. “The bid round signals Libya’s integration into the global energy market,” he said.
That outlook was echoed by Steiner Våge, President for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at ConocoPhillips, who confirmed the U.S. major’s intention to deepen its engagement in Libya and across the African continent.
“Libya is a place where we can work—over the last few years, we’ve significantly increased production at the Waha concession,” said Vaage. “We want to see Libya prosper. We’d also like to transfer our knowledge, and we want to work with partners that have similar objectives—that is the starting point.”
While capital remains globally competitive, Vaage emphasized that Africa—alongside Libya and Equatorial Guinea in particular—remains in strong contention for future investment.
“We see a future in Equatorial Guinea in terms of stranded assets and getting more gas,” he said. “The country needs more gas to keep its facilities and sustain production. There’s a good opportunity to do more.”
Ultimately, the decision on where to deploy capital, he added, comes down to the fundamentals: “It’s about finding the place where there [are] good rocks, good fluids, [and] you have a surface system that works in terms of predictability [and] capacity to execute.”
