Libya announces $20 bn energy deal with TotalEnergies, ConocoPhillips

Libya said Saturday it signed an oil agreement worth more than $20 billion with TotalEnergies and ConocoPhillips, seeking to ramp up production by 850,000 barrels a day for the next 25 years.

Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah said the agreement with the French and American energy firms would bring in revenues of more than $370 billion over the 25-year life of the deal, adding it was fully financed outside the state budget.

The announcement came as the Libya Energy and Economic Summit opened in Tripoli, attended by US President Donald Trump's Middle East adviser Massad Boulos, along with other officials, including from Turkey and Egypt.

Dbeibah said Libya was also set to sign an agreement with US energy giant Chevron covering exploration and production development, as well as a separate deal with Egypt to support services in the sector.

Libya currently produces around 1.5 million barrels a day, sitting on Africa's largest oil reserves at an estimated 48.4 billion barrels.

But the oil industry has faced major challenges, including security issues, with the country still divided after a NATO-backed revolt toppled and killed longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

Libya is split between a UN-recognised government in Tripoli, led by Dbeibah, and commander Khalifa Haftar's administration in the east.

Boulos described the energy summit as "an opportunity to become a premier economic partner with the United States".

The event, he added, is "a potential launchpad for Libya's return as a global energy superpower".

Masoud Suleman, head of the National Oil Corporation, said a new licensing round for oil and gas exploration would be announced next month.

Libya's last call for tenders for hydrocarbon exploration, in 2007-2008, focused on natural gas exploration.

The authorities have sought to draw major global energy companies back to the country after years of political instability and fluctuations in production levels.