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The National Oil Corporation (NOC) of Libya is presenting the country’s Bid Round Roadshow in Istanbul, Türkiye on April 17 2025.

The event is described by the state hydrocarbon company as “offering an exclusive first look” at the country’s first Licensing sale in 17 years.

“This high-level gathering provides a unique opportunity for investors, energy executives, and global stakeholders to engage directly with NOC representatives and gain strategic insights into 22 highly prospective onshore and offshore blocks across Libya’s abundant hydrocarbon basins”, the NOC says.

“Attendees will receive in-depth information on the bidding process, technical and commercial requirements, and the wide range of collaboration opportunities available in one of the MENA region’s most promising and strategically located energy markets. With advanced infrastructure, ongoing sector reforms, and significant untapped reserves, Libya is positioning itself as a key destination for upstream investment”, the statement adds.

“Whether you’re an established IOC or an emerging player exploring new frontiers, this Roadshow is your gateway to unlocking Libya’s energy potential and securing a role in its next chapter of development”.

After the Istanbul show, NOC will make visits to London in late April 2025, and present at Africa Energies Summit in the same city in May 2025.

For fuller details of the round, click here.

Olu Verheijen, Special Adviser to Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu on Energy, says that the government is expecting a significant proportion of the crude oil and gas production from the 22  Oil Mining Leases whose operatorships have passed from Shell and ExxonMobil to Renaissance Africa and Seplat Energy in the last four months.

“People call these transactions divestment but I call them acquisition”, she told Africa Oil+Gas Report in her office in Abuja, the country’s capital.

“They are acquisitions by Nigerian entities; five of them completed in one year”. She said that “now we have these indigenous operators who have a native understanding of these environments and these communities. We expect them to really deliver”.

Nigeria averaged 1.672Million Barrels of Oil and Condensate per day in February  2025, a slight (4%) decrease from the January 2025 output, but  the government has targeted 2.06MMBPD (oil and condensate) in the 2025 National Budget.

That means it expects at least 388,000Barrels Per Day increase.  The government is apparently using the forecast production of 2,066, 938BPD by over 40 operating entities for the first six months of the year, calculated by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

In that forecast, NUPRC expects Renaissance to produce an average of 226, 421BPD (gross) and Seplat (both onshore and shallow water) to produce 271,462BPD (gross). Combined, the two companies are forecast by the regulator to deliver 497, 883BPD, about 24% of the country’s anticipated total.

In a wide ranging interview published in the February 2025 issue of Africa Oil+Gas Report monthly, Mrs. Verheijen said that “between the Renaissance deal and the Seplat deal, we expect a lot of our incremental production to come from those assets so we’re going to be working very closely with the new owners”.

She declared that the government has “now ended that stalemate of someone’s looking to leave, so they’re not really investing but the other person is eager to invest but doesn’t have ownership yet. Now there’s clarity, you have ownership, you are accountable and you’re going to deliver. And the one who wanted to leave has now been enabled to focus on what they want to do which is deep water and integrated gas. We’re going to spend a lot of time with them also in making sure that they deliver those as well”.

The full interview, in which Mrs.  Verheijen discusses a range of issues focused on the efficacy of President Tinubu’s energy reforms, will soon be published on this site.

Libya is offering 22 acreages in its first open licensing sale since 2007.

The acreages, earmarked for exploration and development include 11 Offshore and 11 Onshore tracts, with “areas with undeveloped discoveries estimated to contain a minimum of 2.0Billion Barrels of Oil Equivalent (BBOE) in hydrocarbon resources”, the state hydrocarbon company, NOC, said in a release.

“To support this initiative, we have prepared comprehensive geological and geophysical datasets using the latest digital tools”, the NOC continued, adding that the country holds an estimated 91BBOE) in undiscovered hydrocarbon resources.

“Interested companies will have instant access to principal and optional datasets, which will be available for review and purchase through a Virtual Data Room (VDR). This bid round is particularly significant as the Ministry of Oil & Gas and the National Oil Corporation introduce a new Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) model, featuring attractive fiscal terms designed to encourage investment in Libya’s oil industry”, the NOC explained.

The 11 offshore blocks, said to host 32 wells with seven discoveries, cover a total of  128,714 square kilometers and are situated across three areas.

One (1) block is located in the Sabratha Basin.

Three (3) in the Sirte Basin,

Seven (7) in the area offshore the Cyrenaica platform.

The Cyrenaica, which is north eastern Libya, is the southern margin of Mediterranean Sea and on the northern margin of the African late. The upper Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks of Cyrenaica are believed to contain several potential reservoir and seal rocks, but they are largely underexplored.

By awarding seven acreages in this area, the Libyan government is determined to test the prospectivity of this Libyan segment of the Mediterranean sea.

Libya’s partnership preferences are European and other international players with which it wants to establish strategic partnerships under a production sharing agreement (PSA) model to produce 2-3Million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMBOEPD) in the next four years.

This bid round is particularly significant as the Ministry of Oil & Gas and the National Oil Corporation introduce a new Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) model, featuring attractive fiscal terms designed to encourage investment in Libya’s oil industry.

By Marshal Gungubele, in Accra

Houston based American independent VAALCO Energy has added another asset to the list of acreage positions it holds in Africa

The new one is the CI-705 block offshore Côte d’Ivoire, into which it farmed as an operator. Vaalco will hold a 70% working interest and a 100% paying interest though a commercial carry arrangement and is partnering with Ivory Coast Exploration Oil & Gas SAS and  (the state hydrocarbon company) PETROCI. It will carry its partners at commercial terms through the seismic reprocessing and interpretation stages and potentially drilling up to two exploration wells.

“When we announced our entry into Côte d’Ivoire in 2024 as a non-operating partner in the CI-40 block, we noted our excitement to be expanding our West African focus in a well-established and investment-friendly country,” said George Maxwell, the company’s Chief Executive Officer. “We believe the CI-705 block is favourably located in a proven petroleum system, near existing infrastructure with access to a strong growing domestic market with attractive upside potential”.

Vaalco is one of the several independents, listed in the western hemisphere, with primary focus on African hydrocarbon assets. It has a diverse portfolio of production, development and exploration assets across Gabon, Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria and Canada, producing between 24,550 and 25,050 (Working Interest) Barrels of Oil Equivalent Per Day (BOEPD) for full year 2024. Out of Vaalco’s producing countries, Canadian contributes the least, with about 3,000BOEPD (WI). The Equatorial Guinea asset, Block P, is undeveloped. Egypt and Gabon each delivers over 10,000BOEPD. The CI-40 block in Côte d’Ivoire already topped up Vaalco’s 2024 output with 4,600BOEPD.

The newly acquired CI-705 block is sited in the prolific Tano basin and is approximately 70 kilometres to the west of CI-40, where the Baobab and Kossipo oil fields are located, and 60 kilometres west of ENI’s recent Calao discovery. Block CI-705 covers approximately 2,300 km² and is lightly explored with three wells drilled to date on the block. The water depth across the block ranges from zero to 2,500 metres. Vaalco has invested $3Million to acquire its interest in the new block which it believes has significant prospectivity.

“Our initial assessment is that there are both oil and natural gas prospects on the block and we plan to conduct a detailed, integrated geological analysis to assess and mature our understanding of the block’s overall prospectivity”, Maxwell explained. “We have demonstrated our ability to acquire, develop and enhance value with the accretive acquisitions we have executed in the past. We are also excited about the major projects that we have planned in 2025 and 2026, which are expected to deliver a step-change in organic growth across our portfolio. We are pleased to have yet another opportunity to add value and runway for Vaalco’s future.”

Bluewater, the specialist energy private equity firm, has signed a purchase agreement to sell Apex International Energy, a leading independent player in oil & gas exploration and production in the prolific Egyptian upstream market.

The beneficiary is United Energy Group (UEG), a Hong Kong listed operator.

After the completion of the transaction, UEG’s gross production in Egypt in 2024 will reach 39,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOEPD), enabling it to rank among the top ten oil and gas producers in the country.

UEG’s statement says that Apex is a major independent oil and gas producer in Egypt’s Western Desert, with interests in eight onshore concession areas, hosting an average working interest production of over 11,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOEPD) in 2024.

“Apex’s portfolio offers considerable growth potential, with enhanced oil recovery, and a large exploration acreage of over 3,500 km²”, UEG says. “Notably, the Egyptian Cabinet recently approved the merger of Apex-related concession agreements. The new agreement will improve fiscal terms, increase investment, unleash economic potential, and create long-term value for all parties involved”.

Since entering the Egyptian market through the acquisition of Kuwait Energy in 2019, UEG currently holds interests in 5 concession areas, with an average gross production of 22,000BOEPD in 2024. Part of UEGs holdings in Egypt, before the current acquisition, was a 100% interest in the Burg El Arab and West Wadi El Natrun blocks; 70%, 25% and 49.5% in the Area A, Abu Sennan and East Ras Qattara blocks, respectively. These, with the exception of  East Ras Qattara, are operated by UEG.

UEG claims to be “one of the largest independent integrated energy companies listed in Hong Kong”. Its business covers South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.

“This transaction marks a new stage in its Egyptian strategy. In the future, it will further integrate regional resources and strengthen its global energy supply chain landscape”.