Three significant meetings during April provide further evidence of growing international interest in the Libyan oil and gas sector.
Three significant meetings during April provide further evidence of growing international interest in the Libyan oil and gas sector.
Finance Minister Khalid Al-Mabrouk and the acting Minister of Oil and Gas, Khalifa Abdul Sadiq, met with US Deputy Secretary of State for Energy Resources, Jeffrey Byatt, to discuss potential cooperation in the oil and gas sector. The meeting was held at the 2024 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary and the World Bank Group with a view to attracting US oil companies to invest in Libya.
A few days earlier a Libyan government delegation met with Luke Reynolds, the National Security Officer for North Africa at the White House to discuss Libyan energy.
Plans were presented showing the Libyan government and the National Oil Corporation (NOC) intentions to increase oil and gas production as well as ways to increase cooperation between the two countries, and a return of US investment in the sector.
Also discussed was “the centrality of the Libyan role in enhancing global stability of oil supplies, its strategic role in the global energy market, and Libya’s readiness to actively participate in the oil field development conference that will be held in the state of Houston.”
In attendance were the acting Minister of Oil and Gas, Khalifa Abdul Sadiq, and others for the government of National Unity.
A statement published by the government subsequently noted that the meeting discussed “the energy file in the light of geopolitical challenges in the region, and its effects on energy supplies and the stability of global markets.”
The same week also saw a meeting take place in Tripoli between the Minister of Economy and Trade, Mohammed Al-Huweij, and the French ambassador to Libya, Mostafa Mihraje, to discuss economic and trade cooperation between the two countries and rebuilding the role of the joint Libyan-French Chamber of Commerce to facilitate trade and improve problems faced by businesses in both countries. Al-Huweij spoke of encouraging French companies to invest in various sectors in Libya, including energy and oil and gas.
He went on to extend an invitation to French companies to attend the Tripoli International Fair due to be held in May. The French ambassador spoke of the need to organise a joint economic forum in Tripoli this year.
The Technology of Oil, Gas and Sustainable Energy Conference and Exhibition also took place in Tripoli at the end of April.
Kamal Al-Muntasir, chairman of the High Committee for Oil, Gas and Sustainable Energy, noted in a statement that the conference is intended to bring together energy experts, from both the traditional and clean energy fields, both in Libya and internationally.
Speaking at the conference, NOC chairman, Farhat Bengdara, emphasised the importance of restructuring the Oil Research Center to improve its capabilities and focus on scientific research and human resource development in the oil and gas sector.
As a firm, Eltumi Partners is well positioned to provide strategic commercial and legal advice to businesses looking to explore investment opportunities in the oil and gas sector in Libya.
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