• NOC announces a new oil and gas discovery in northwest Libya’s Ghadames Basin.
• The Arabian Gulf Oil Company drilled the well, yielding 4,675 b/d and 2 million cubic feet of gas daily.
• The discovery strengthens Libya’s recovery efforts amid renewed exploration activity.

Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced on November 4 a new discovery of oil and gas in the Ghadames Basin, located in the country’s northwest near the Algerian border—one of Libya’s most productive onshore oil regions.

The find was made by the Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO), a subsidiary of the NOC, at the H1-NC4 well. According to the state company, production from the site is estimated at 4,675 barrels of crude oil per day (b/d) and about 2 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. The project is 100% owned by the NOC.

The announcement follows the resumption of exploration drilling in the Ghadames Basin by Algeria’s Sonatrach Group, which had halted operations in May 2014 due to security instability. The Libyan Ministry of Oil and Gas had previously reported in February 2013 an oil discovery in the same basin under Sonatrach’s operations, estimated at 8,200 b/d of oil and 1,700 m³ of gas per day.

In May 2023, the NOC also announced a discovery in Block 4/82, in which it holds an 89.5% stake, with Russia’s Tatneft holding the remaining 10.5%. Libya holds Africa’s largest proven oil reserves, estimated at 48 billion barrels, but production has been repeatedly disrupted by the political and security turmoil following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The country remains divided between two rival authorities: the UN-recognized Government of National Unity (GUN) based in Tripoli, and a parallel administration in Benghazi aligned with Khalifa Haftar, who controls large parts of the territory.

In early 2025, Tripoli adopted a recovery plan for the hydrocarbon sector, backed by investments between $3 and $4 billion. As part of this strategy, Libya launched its first oil licensing round in 17 years, seen by analysts as a signal of renewed openness to foreign investment.