Libya’s National Oil Corporation to Step Up Production

February 2, 2025

(3 Minutes Read)

Libya’s new acting chairman, Massoud Suleman, stated that the country’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) will focus on raising its output and transparency. NOC, Africa’s second-largest oil producer, is looking to recover from years of instability. The state firm oversees oil and gas production that has been disrupted by violent factionalism and labour disputes since the 2011 ousting of leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Production plummeted several times last year amid wrangling between rival groups, including over leadership of the central bank which controls Libya’s oil revenue. The National Oil Corporation has a strategic plan to increase production that we will continue to implement and make any adjustments to, whenever necessary, said Suleman.

NOC was producing about 1.4 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) at the end of 2024, according to the company, while the OPEC member country’s longer-term target is 2 million bpd. Earlier this month, its acting oil minister, Khalifa Abdulsadek, stated that the country needs USD 3 – USD 4 billion to reach output of 1.6 million bpd. Suleman also said he would focus on boosting NOC’s transparency which could involve streamlining some operations, including possible office closures.

NOC fully owns 15 subsidiaries, according to its website, in addition to stakes in joint ventures and other companies it oversees. Foreign investors are wary of putting money into Libya, which has long been split between rival factions in the east and west backed by Turkey and Russia.

He also said he is in contact with Libya’s attorney general over a request to stop the crude swap programme. NOC has used crude-for-fuel swaps as an alternative funding method. He said he would also work with the central bank and the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity to determine the appropriate mechanism to provide a sufficient budget that ensures the country’s complete supply of refined petroleum products.

Despite being a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Libya is exempt from output curbs agreed upon by its members and allies including Russia in the so-called OPEC+ group of producers.