Libya Begins 130-km Gas Pipeline Trial as NOC Targets Export Expansion

Libya is testing a long-delayed gas pipeline that could recover 150 MMcfd of flared gas and ease production constraints. The project is part of a broader push to increase exports and attract foreign investment.

(Reuters) - Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) has begun trial operation of a long-delayed gas pipeline aimed at easing production bottlenecks and supporting future exports, the company said late on Monday. 

The North African country, the continent's second-largest oil producer and a member of OPEC, relies heavily on hydrocarbons, but its ability to attract foreign investment and expand output has been hampered by years of political and economic turmoil since 2011.

In recent months, NOC has sought to reverse that trend, announcing new oil and gas discoveries and awarding exploration blocks in its first licensing round since 2007, signalling a renewed push to bring in international partners as the nation looks to boost production to 1 billion standard cubic feet per day and raise exports to Europe by the early 2030s.

The new 42-inch pipeline links the Intisar A/103 field to the Brega gas distribution network over about 130 km (80 miles). NOC said it would enable the recovery of about 150 million cubic feet of gas per day that had previously been flared, boosting supplies to domestic consumers and freeing up volumes for export.

Libya holds an estimated 80 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, but exports via the Greenstream pipeline to Italy remain limited.

NOC said the project, which had been stalled for about 16 years, would also eliminate “back pressure” that had disrupted operations and forced some fields to shut down, improving overall efficiency across the gas network.