Libya signals push to re-anchor Western oil majors like total energies

Libya’s government says it has signed a 25-year oil development agreement through Waha Oil Company with France’s TotalEnergies and U.S.-based ConocoPhillips, presenting the deal as a long-horizon commitment designed to lock in Western capital and technical capacity in a sector that has struggled to sustain investment since 2011 as per Reuters.

Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah said the agreement involves more than $20 billion in foreign-financed investment and is aimed at boosting production capacity by up to 850,000 barrels per day, with projected net revenues of more than $376 billion over the life of the contract. He described the package as fully financed outside the state budget.

The 25-year timeframe is a signal in itself: it is intended to make upstream spending easier to justify and plan, especially for international operators that typically need predictable contract horizons to commit capital to drilling, facilities upgrades, pipeline integrity work, and long-lead procurement.

Libya’s political fragmentation and periodic disruptions have repeatedly tested investor confidence. Against that backdrop, Tripoli’s messaging around “foreign-financed investment” and long-term terms reads as an attempt to reassure partners that Libya is willing to offer a framework stable enough to keep major Western companies engaged.

Why Waha matters to the “re-anchoring” story

Waha Oil Company sits at the center of Libya’s production and export system: its fields feed pipeline networks that move crude to the Sidra terminal and send gas to processing facilities, according to the Reuters account of the deal. A Waha source cited in the same report said typical daily output ranges between 340,000 and 400,000 bpd under normal operations.

The deal also builds on an existing partnership footprint. TotalEnergies has previously disclosed that it and ConocoPhillips jointly increased their interests in the Waha concessions, underscoring that both firms already have strategic exposure they may seek to expand through new development work.

The summit backdrop: more Western tie-ups, more signalsThe agreement was signed during the Libya Energy & Economic Summit in Tripoli, a platform the government has used to showcase investment opportunities and partnerships.

The summit backdrop: more Western tie-ups, more signals

The agreement was signed during the Libya Energy & Economic Summit in Tripoli, a platform the government has used to showcase investment opportunities and partnerships.

Alongside the Waha deal, the government said it also signed a memorandum of understanding with U.S. major Chevron and a cooperation agreement with Egypt’s oil ministry. Dbeibah framed these moves as strengthening Libya’s ties with influential international partners in the energy sector.

What comes next: licensing momentum and execution milestones

Separately, Masoud Suleman, acting chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC), said at the summit that results from Libya’s first oil exploration bidding round in more than 17 years would be announced on February 11.

For markets and policymakers, the credibility test will be execution: whether the investment cited translates into clear work programs, field activity, and measurable capacity gains while operating conditions remain stable enough for multi-year delivery.

source: Reuters report