When will North Africa’s sleeping gas giant wake up?
Closed to foreign exploration for years, Libya’s gas potential has gone largely unexplored. But since the country opened for business again in 2003 when international sanctions were lifted, companies have rushed in, both in the licensing rounds and – in the case of Shell and BP – in specially negotiated deals.
With potentially huge untapped gas reserves, Libya could become a heavyweight in the LNG industry. But despite the announcement of plans for three new LNG export projects, significant progress has yet to be made due to the lack of gas discoveries and uncertainty over the country’s gas strategy.