KEY POINTS
- Libya’s National Oil Corporation met QatarEnergy in Doha to discuss partnerships and progress on its national oil and gas bid round.
- Talks focused on technical cooperation, drawing global investors back into the Libyan energy sector and supporting new exploration plans.
- The outreach forms part of Tripoli’s push to revive upstream investment as the country prepares to open new acreage to international companies.
Libya’s National Oil Corporation, NOC, has begun fresh talks with QatarEnergy as Tripoli pushes ahead with its national oil and gas bid round, hoping to draw back foreign investment after years of political hesitation.
Masoud Suleiman, who chairs the state-run corporation, met Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and chief executive of QatarEnergy, Saad Al-Kaabi, during the Doha Forum on Monday.
The discussion, according to officials familiar with the talks, centred on how both sides could deepen cooperation at a time when Libya is trying to revive its upstream sector and reassure international operators that the environment is once again stable enough to commit capital.
The NOC said the meeting touched on possible partnerships, technical support arrangements and wider efforts to bring more global firms into the Libyan energy market.
Tripoli seeks foreign capital as it prepares to open new acreage to explorers
Officials have said the bid round is intended to unlock long-delayed exploration, much of which has been stalled by Libya’s political split and recurrent security setbacks.
The NOC has in recent weeks highlighted a series of initiatives to revive investor confidence, including plans to drill the first deep-water exploration well in the Sirte Basin and a proposed overhaul of fuel import procedures.
The renewed engagement with Gulf partners marks a return to a strategy that previous Libyan administrations had attempted before conflict disrupted long-term planning.
QatarEnergy, which has expanded aggressively across Africa and the Mediterranean in recent years, is seen as a potential anchor investor that could help bring others back into the fold.
Although the NOC has been unveiling new projects to mark milestones such as the 64th anniversary of Libya’s first oil export, the corporation has also faced practical pressures, including budget limitations that recently prevented it from funding the national football team’s travel to Qatar.
