- Libya’s NOC met Polish operator PUNA to review 2025–26 exploration plans in the Murzuq Basin.
- PUNA committed to drilling six exploratory wells over three years under EPSA requirements.
- The NOC is trying to revive underdeveloped basins as logistical conditions improve but challenges persist.
Libya’s National Oil Corporation, NOC, has begun a fresh review of exploration work in the Murzuq Basin, holding a detailed session with Poland’s PUNA Oil Company as the North African producer tries to draw new momentum into a region that has long suffered from fluctuating activity.
The meeting, which took place at the NOC’s headquarters in Tripoli on 27 November, centred on the company’s plans for 2025 and the work it intends to carry out the following year. Executives walked through seismic survey schedules, drilling timelines and the technical coordination required to keep upcoming phases on track, according to people familiar with the discussions.
PUNA, formally known as PGNiG Upstream North Africa, operates as part of the ORLEN Group, Poland’s largest integrated energy company. ORLEN assumed control of Libya-focused assets after consolidating several state energy firms in recent years, inheriting frontier acreage first taken on by PGNiG in the mid-2000s
Polish Operator Commits to Fresh Wells as Libya Seeks to Revive Frontier Basins
During the session, the Polish side reaffirmed that it would meet outstanding exploration commitments by drilling six new exploratory wells over the next three years under Libya’s Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement rules. The NOC’s Exploration Department oversees these obligations and keeps track of minimum work requirements across concession areas.
The Murzuq Basin remains one of Libya’s most promising regions for light crude, home to discoveries stretching back three decades, including the Sharara field. But activity has not followed a steady path, particularly after 2011, as violence, limited access and shifting logistical conditions left work either stalled or scaled back at various points.
Officials at the NOC have been trying to lift momentum across underexplored basins such as Murzuq and Ghadames to lessen the country’s dependence on the mature Sirte Basin. Transport corridors in the south-west have seen some improvement, which has helped restart surveys that had been repeatedly pushed back. Yet operators continue to face inconsistent access and operational difficulties.
Talks between the two sides ended with an agreement to maintain close coordination, a move aimed at ensuring drilling programmes run on time and that the broader potential of the Murzuq Basin is not left idle at a moment when Libya is searching for more reliable future supply.
