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Libya oil licensing round attracts more than 40 companies

16 May 2025

Libya’s latest upstream licensing round has attracted more than 40 applicants, according to Abdolkabir Alfakhry, an adviser to Libya’s oil and gas minister.

Speaking at an event in Paris, he said the bid round signalled Libya’s integration into the global energy market.

However, amid progress on its first international upstream licensing round in 18 years, the country has seen an increase in violence.

On 12 May, Tripoli saw its most intense fighting in years following the reported killing of Abdul Ghani Al-Kikli, the commander who runs the powerful Stability Support Apparatus (SSA) militia.

A ceasefire was announced on 14 May.

Libya launched its latest oil licensing round in March 2025, offering 22 onshore and offshore blocks.

The country is targeting a production capacity of 2 million barrels a day (b/d) by 2028.

If the licensing round proves successful, with significant interest from international oil companies, it could help Libya stabilise its oil and gas sector.

However, if the bid round does not go according to plan, it may negatively impact sentiment about Libya’s oil and gas sector prospects, exacerbating the country’s wider economic problems.

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Wil Crisp

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    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    With inputs from Indrajit Sen

    Kuwait Gulf Oil Company (KGOC), a subsidiary of state energy conglomerate Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), has set in motion a project to develop an onshore gas processing plant that will receive gas feedstock from the Dorra offshore gas field located in the Saudi-Kuwait Neutral Zone.

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    MEED reported in September 2023 that Aramco and KPC had selected Technip Energies to carry out pre-feed and feed work on the Dorra offshore field development project.

    The original feed work for a project to develop the field was performed more than a decade ago. However, due to changes in technology, the engineering design needed to be updated before the project could reach a final investment decision.

    KJO is understood to have issued the tenders for the Dorra offshore field development project in August last year. It has divided the scope of work on the Dorra gas field development project, which is estimated to be valued at up to $10bn, into four EPC packages – three offshore and one onshore.

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    • Package 2B: Compression and auxiliary platforms, an accommodation platform, associated trunklines and cables connecting to the shoreline – 31 July
    • Package 3: Onshore gas processing plant – 31 July

    The following contractors are understood to be among those bidding for the three offshore packages:

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    • McDermott (US)
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    • Saipem (Italy)

    Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have been collaborating to develop the offshore field since its discovery in 1965. The two sides expect to produce about 1 billion cubic feet a day of gas from the asset and have agreed to split the gas output equally.

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    In February 2024, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia reiterated their claim over the Dorra field in a joint statement issued during an official meeting between Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud in Riyadh.

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    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14286249/main0643.jpg
    Wil Crisp