Following a recent oil discovery in the Sirte Basin, Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) on Tuesday announced another find in the Ghadames Basin, located in the northwestern part of the country near the Algerian border.
NOC’s wholly owned subsidiary, the Arabian Gulf Oil Company, reported that the new onshore discovery was made at well H1-NC4.
The well is estimated to produce approximately 4,675 barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil and around 2 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/d) of natural gas.
Last week, another NOC subsidiary, Austrian energy firm OMV, discovered oil in Block 106/4 in the Sirte Basin—one of the world’s most prolific petroleum provinces in terms of estimated reserves.
Production tests cited by NOC indicated that the exploration well could yield more than 4,200 b/d of oil, with gas output expected to exceed 2.6 mmcf/d.
This marks OMV’s first discovery in Block 106/4 since the company signed an exploration and production sharing agreement with NOC in 2008.
Uptick in Libya’s oil sector
Libya is witnessing a notable increase in hydrocarbon activity in 2025, with rising oil production and multiple new discoveries.
The country’s oil output has reached 1.254m b/d, with total production (including condensates and gas) amounting to 1.522m boe/d.
As part of its aggressive expansion strategy, NOC has set an ambitious target to raise output to 2m b/d by the end of 2025.
Companies such as OMV, Eni, BP, and Shell—which previously exited Libya due to insecurity and political instability—have begun returning to resume operations.
OMV re-entered Libya at the end of 2024, after more than a decade away, as security conditions in the country have improved.
In mid-October, Algeria’s Sonatrach also resumed oil and gas exploration drilling in Libya’s Ghadames Basin.