Libya Targets Gas Export Boost to Europe by 2030

Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) plans to increase natural gas production over the next five years to support higher exports to Europe by early 2030, its chairman, Massoud Suleman, said on Tuesday.

At the LNG2026 conference in Qatar, according to Suleman, Libya aims to raise gas output to nearly 1 billion standard cubic feet per day and begin drilling for shale gas in the second half of this year. He added that the country holds about 80 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, spanning both conventional and unconventional resources.

Libya is currently exporting only negligible volumes of gas to Europe through the Greenstream pipeline, as years of political instability and disputes over oil revenues have discouraged foreign investment and disrupted production.

Suleman said the NOC will announce the winners of its latest licensing round on February 11, noting that around 37 companies from Africa, Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East participated. These include Chevron, Eni, ConocoPhillips and a consortium involving Repsol.

He added that Libya plans to launch another bid round later this year, potentially covering unconventional resources or marginal fields.