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Talks ongoing over Sonatrach’s return to Libya

12 June 2023

Talks are ongoing between Libya and Algeria over the possible return of the Algerian national oil and gas company Sonatrach to Libya.

Future meetings have been scheduled between officials from the oil ministries of both countries, according to sources.

Sonatrach abandoned its exploration activities on the Libyan side of the Algeria-Libya border in 2014 due to the deteriorating security situation and is yet to return.

The Algerian state-owned company reportedly made several promising discoveries before its exit.

In February 2022, Sonatrach announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) to restart its operations in the North African country. There has been little progress on the return since the deal was announced.

At the time, Sonatrach said: “The MoU aims for a restart of Sonatrach’s activities in Libya to fulfil its contractual obligations and develop fields that have been discovered.”

The current talks on Sonatrach’s possible return to Libya come as Tripoli plans to ramp up oil and gas production.

In May, MEED revealed that Libya plans to more than triple gas production compared to levels produced in 2021, targeting production of 4 billion cubic feet a day (cf/d).

In 2021, Libya produced, on average, just 1.2 billion cf/d, according to the Statistical Review of World Energy, which UK energy major BP published in June last year.

Libya’s oil production stands at around 1.2 million barrels a day (b/d). The country aims to produce 2 million b/d within three to five years.

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Wil Crisp

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