Libya prepares $5bn tender to develop North Gialo field

Libya’s National Oil Corporation is seeking $16bn from international partners as part of a $36bn investment programme aimed at raising crude production to two million barrels per day by early 2031, Chairman Masoud Suleman has said.

The external financing would complement a planned $20bn domestic commitment to rehabilitate ageing infrastructure, restore shut-in capacity and develop new production. Suleman told Bloomberg that the expansion programme remained on track, with national crude output holding at about 1.4 million bpd.

In June, the NOC reported crude production of 1.439 million bpd and condensate output of 49,163 bpd, taking combined production to almost 1.49 million bpd — its highest level since 2013.

The financing outlook has improved following the approval of an operating allocation exceeding LYD13bn, equivalent to more than $2bn, under a unified spending arrangement reached with US mediation. The corporation received no operating funding during 2025.

“The era of delayed funding is over,” Suleman said, adding that previous delays had created uncertainty for both the NOC and its international partners.

The corporation estimates that it requires about $300m a month to maintain operations while managing liabilities accumulated and subsequently restructured during 2024 and 2025.

Alongside the operating allocation, the Libyan Foreign Bank has approved a $1bn loan to finance projects intended to lift crude production above 1.5 million bpd by mid-2027. A further $1bn is expected to become available once that production threshold is reached.

The NOC is also preparing an international investment tender, expected within three months, for the development of the North Gialo field. Suleman put the project’s estimated cost at $5bn, with the development targeting approximately 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day under a fully financed investment model.

North Gialo is an undeveloped oil and gas asset in the Sirte Basin, approximately 16 kilometres northwest of the existing Gialo production facilities. It forms part of the Waha concessions and will be operated by Waha Oil Company, which is wholly owned by the NOC.

The concessions are held by the NOC with a 59.16% interest, while TotalEnergies and ConocoPhillips each own 20.42%. An agreement signed in January extended the concessions to the end of 2050 and introduced revised fiscal terms intended to support further investment, including the North Gialo development.

The Waha assets were producing about 370,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day when the extension was announced. North Gialo alone is expected to add a further 100,000 boe/d once fully developed.

Additional near-term growth is expected from Akakus Oil Operations, the operator of the Sharara field. Suleman forecast that the company’s production would reach 350,000 bpd before the end of 2026.

The NOC also plans to return further shut-in wells operated by Akakus, Waha Oil Company, Sirte Oil Company and Arabian Gulf Oil Company to production as it pursues incremental gains alongside its larger development projects.