The firm’s executive vice president for gas and low carbon, William Lin, stated that the agreement “reflects our strong interest in deepening our partnership with NOC and supporting the future of Libya’s energy sector.” And it is in the Sirte basin that it -- along with Italian energy giant ENI -- is now drilling the first deepwater offshore well seen in Libya for nearly two decades. Targeting the basin’s Matsola exploration prospect in Contract Area 38/3 in the Mediterranean Sea, according to ENI, it is also the first major new operation between the two firms in Libya, with the joint venture comprising a 42.5% stake each for BP and ENI, with the remaining 15% held by the country’s sovereign wealth fund -- the Libyan Investment Authority. Core to this would be the formation of a joint technical committee, which would – according to the official statement: “Oversee oil revenues and ensure the fair distribution of resources… and control the implementation of the terms of the agreement during the next three months, provided that its work is evaluated at the end of 2020 and a plan is defined for the next year.” In order to address the fact that the then-GNA effectively held sway over the NOC and, by extension, the Central Bank of Libya (in which the revenues are physically held), the committee would also “prepare a unified budget that meets the needs of each party… and the reconciliation of any dispute over budget allocations… and will require the Central Bank [in Tripoli] to cover the monthly or quarterly payments approved in the budget without any delay, and as soon as the joint technical committee requests the transfer.” None of these measures has since been put into place, which leaves fundamental flashpoints over the country’s core revenue stream remaining.
Author: Simon Watkins
Published at: 2026-02-04 00:00:00
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