The average price of gasoline around the world is $1.29 dollars per liter. However, there is a substantial difference in these prices among countries. As a general rule, richer countries have higher prices, while poorer countries and oil-producing countries have significantly lower prices.
According to the Global Petroleum Price, the price of Libyan gasoline is cheaper than bottled water and is one of the cheapest fuels in the world.
The oil-rich country ranked second, after Venezuela. Currently, a liter of fuel will set you back at just $0.031.
Norway is an outlier among oil-producing countries, as it taxes gasoline at a premium. The country’s economy is based on oil, but has for many years pursued a strategy of making its own economy independent of fossil fuels.
Conversely, Hong Kong has the highest price of petrol globally. The report said that the price of a gallon is $13.10 – double the global average, and $1.15 more than the second most expensive country.
Other oil producers have gone the opposite route, offering gasoline to their citizens at a discount. The most drastic examples of this are Venezuela, Libya, and Iran, where gasoline only costs a couple of cents per gallon.
Post-2011 Libya has been blighted by a series of oil facility blockades, and reduced production by various players vying for influence, power, and money.
Libya produces about 1.2 million barrels of oil a day, and is exempt from the OPEC+ production deal because of security concerns.
Notably, the Libyan Minister of Oil and Gas, Mohamed Aoun noted that Libya has enough solar radiation to export massive amounts of electricity to other countries.
During his participation via videoconference in the Global Summit on Energy Security in India, Aoun stressed the need to transition to clean energies. However, he urged that it not take place at the expense of the African continent.
Earlier this month, Aoun said that Libya plans to increase oil production to 2 million bpd within three years.
In press statements, Aoun expected that oil would gradually rise between 1.3 and 1.5 million bpd during 2023. He added that geological studies have proven the existence of large deposits of oil and gas in the Libyan economic waters in the Mediterranean.
The Minister expressed his hope to reach “amicable solutions” to the maritime border demarcation crisis with neighbouring countries, especially Egypt.