Libya’s Minister of Oil, Mohamed Aoun said that a new gas line, parallel to an existing one could be extended to Italy within four to six months.
Aoun told Bloomberg on the sidelines of the “Africa Oil Week” exhibition that Libya exports about 250 to 300 million cubic feet of gas to Italy per day.
He explained that “there are several discoveries that contain huge quantities, estimated at trillions of cubic feet of gas, but their development will take time.”
He pointed out that he supported the decision of OPEC+ to reduce production, saying: “We feel that this decision is wise, it will stabilize the market, and will not be subject to strong rises and falls.”
The Libyan Ministry of Finance reported that Libya’s oil revenues for 2022 have amounted to 77.17 billion Libyan Dinars (LYD) ($15.2 billion dollars).
In a statement, the Ministry of Finance added that the total turnover of the energy sector was 79.35 billion LYD ($15.7 billion dollars).
The statement revealed that, in the first nine months of 2022, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) signed agreements worth over 15 billion LYD (about $3 billion dollars).
In late September, Aoun directed the NOC to begin exploration of more blocs, both offshore and on land, in addition to developing existing discoveries.
During the Libya Oil, Gas, and Renewable Energy Exhibition, Aoun explained that this was an invitation for foreign and Arab companies to start investments in Libya. He added that it, “encourages foreign investors to see Libya, and develop the oil sector.”
He noted that production at the end of 2022 will be close to the current daily production of crude oil, which is 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd).
The NOC’s Chairman, Farhat Bengdara said that they plan to increase Libya’s production of crude oil to 2 million bpd.
Bengdara held a meeting with the NOC’s Budget Committee to follow up on the settlement of overdue salaries. They also discussed the NOC’s three-year plan, according to the extraordinary budget.
Bengdara said that this “will be achieved in accordance with a 3–5 year medium-term plan, to increase crude oil production rates to two million bpd within available capabilities.”