BP and Italy's Eni will drill a long-planned deepwater exploration well offshore Libya in the first quarter of 2026, a source at state-owned NOC told Argus.
It is the most anticipated well since international oil companies, also including Spain's Repsol, Austria's OMV and Algerian state-owned Sonatrach, resumed exploration efforts late in 2024.
"The first ultra-deepwater exploration well in Area C is scheduled in 2026," block operator Eni told Argus. NOC said the well is scheduled for January.
The planned well is offshore Libya's Sirte Basin oil and gas heartland and targets a gas prospect. Eni and BP started a three-well exploration campaign in late 2024. The first well was drilled on their Area B in the Ghadames basin, but the NOC source said this yielded no commercial quantities of oil and gas.
Eni and BP plan another exploration well on Area B in 2026, the source said. Any discoveries could be tied into Eni's nearby facilities. The two firms also hold the close by Area A.
Eni is Libya's largest oil and gas producer by volume and is leading the country's exploration revival. It is currently drilling an offshore exploration well in Area D, close to its existing offshore production facilities. It will drill another after this is completed, the source said.
IOCs were forced to abandon their exploration efforts in 2014 as the Libya's security situation deteriorated. Firms are returning because NOC lifted force majeure on these plans in 2024.
"The companies are genuinely eager to explore," the source said. "This isn't just about them having to fulfill their contractual commitments."
Repsol is drilling the third of a nine-well exploration campaign in the onshore Murzuq basin. So far, one of these has proven "successful", the source said. Discoveries will be tied into the Repsol-led 300,000 b/d El Sharara field.
NOC has announced six new onshore discoveries this year, including one from OMV and one from Sonatrach.
Exploration revival
Libya has said it will announce winners of its first upstream licensing round in almost two decades in the first quarter of 2026.
Firms including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, TotalEnergies and Eni have been shortlisted to participate in the licensing round.
ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and BP have also signed bilateral preliminary agreements with NOC that could see them explore new areas and even develop existing onshore fields.
The exploration programmes and licensing round are primarily aimed at boosting reserves and extending plateau production once Libya reaches its output goals, but discoveries could surprise to the upside.
Libya aims to boost crude production from about 1.4mn b/d to 2mn b/d and gas production from about 1.2bn ft³/d (12.4bn m³/yr) to 4bn ft³/d over the next few years.
