Libya has significant proven oil reserves.

The 2025 Libyan Bid Round has won American major, Chevron, onshore Contract Area 106 located in the Sirte Basin 

The country's National Oil Corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the major's subsidiary, Chevron Business Development EMEA Ltd, in Tripoli to evaluate the development and exploration potential in the region.

“Chevron is excited to enter Libya with the award of onshore Contract Area 106, which underscores our focus on North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean region, and is a good fit in our exploration strategy to grow our portfolio with high-quality acreage and high impact prospects,” said Kevin McLachlan, vice president of exploration at Chevron.

“Libya has significant proven oil reserves and a long history of producing its resources. Chevron is confident that its proven track record in developing oil and gas projects and its technical expertise gives it the ability to support Libya to further develop its resources.”

The award of the Contract Area is subject to the execution of a Production Sharing Agreement.

“Chevron looks forward to our partnership with NOC and other key stakeholders in Libya. The Contract Area award and MoU are important milestones as we continue to evaluate opportunities to support Libya’s energy sector,” said Frank Mount, President of Corporate Business Development.

Chevron has a diverse exploration and production portfolio in the Mediterranean and Africa and continues to assess potential future opportunities in the region. Chevron is one of the largest producers and acreage holders in Nigeria, Angola and Equatorial Guinea. It has two exploration blocks each in Namibia and Guinea-Bissau, and three exploration blocks in Egypt.

MOL Group sees Libya’s oil and gas industry as a pillar of strength.

Libya’s National Oil Corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with MOL Group for hydrocarbons exploration, technological and field development innovations, oilfield services opportunities, and crude supply and trading activities

Signed in Budapest by MOL group chairman and chief executive officer, Zsolt Hernadi, and chairman of the NOC, Masoud Suleman, this is a strategic partnership for the Hungarian oil and gas company as it aims to expand its international portfolio and secure diverse supply sources as a landlocked country.

Speaking on the collaboration, Hernadi, said, "We recognise Libya’s oil and gas industry as a pillar of strength and expertise. I am sure that this new agreement will act as a catalyst for further expanding our international portfolio, creating clear mutual value for both companies and reinforcing the resilience of our region. From the perspective of security of supply and energy sovereignty, particularly for landlocked countries, diversification of sources is of crucial importance." 

Joint exploration potential besides, the mutual collaboration will advance exchange of information as well. "Our cooperation also goes beyond business, as we have agreed to rebuild our educational, scientific, and university ties in order to learn as much as possible from each other. Such partnerships can also help Europe to find its own path to competitiveness, rather than switching between different forms of energy dependency,” said Hernádi.

TotalEnergies and Galp have high hopes from Namibia's production generation capacity.

Ahead of major exploration activities offshore Namibia following asset swaps in the region between TotalEnergies and Galp, the oil giants pledged long-term commitment to the country during a recent meeting with the President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah

With TotalEnergies acquiring operatorship of Petroleum Exploration License (PEL) 83 while Galp stepping into PEL 56 and PEL 91, the partners have expressed high hopes from Namibia's production generation capacity. This confidence builds on past results from the licenses, namely the Mopane and Venus discoveries, which brought the Orange Basin international-scale success.

The meeting comes in the wake of a potential final investment decision for Venus project and an exploration and appraisal campaign of three wells in the Mopane region. While expressing their readiness to advance local employment and skills development, the partners also sought continued regulatory support for the efficient execution of upcoming project phases. 

“Our partnership with Galp marks an important milestone as Namibia prepares to become an important energy‑producing nation. Together, we are committed to developing the country’s deepwater potential responsibly and efficiently, while building long‑term value for Namibia and other stakeholders. By aligning our strengths across both Venus and Mopane, we are laying the foundation for a new energy hub in the region—one that combines operational excellence, local development and shared prosperity,” said Patrick Pouyanne, chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, who already have in place a well-defined development concept for the Venus exploration.

With Galp keen on research work before initiating the development of Mopane, the company's chairman, Paula Amorim, said, “Solid partnerships are a core pillar of Galp’s growth strategy. The Mopane discoveries represent a transformational opportunity and partnering with a global footprint deep‑water leader like TotalEnergies ensures these resources can be developed efficiently and sustainably for the benefit of Namibia and all stakeholders. Our commitment to Namibia has never been stronger. We are confident that this geography will emerge as a relevant future global energy ecosystem.”

Africa will drive global activity. (Image source: Rystad Energy)

Research firm, Rystad Energy, has predicted strong momentum to remain steady in Africa's exploration scene as operators are showing healthy risk appetites with wildcat drilling activities lined-up in the region 

High-impact wildcat wells were already trending in 2024 and 2025, reporting sharp success rates at 23% and 38% respectively. In a year-on-year basis, high-impact drilling has added around 2.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent, recording a 53% boost in volumes. 

This will continue to be prevalent well into 2026 with Africa's Orange Basin and Gulf of Guinea driving global activity at around 40% of planned high-impact exploration wells. Almost all onshore high-impact drilling this year is expected to come from Africa, as Rystad notes a clear concentration in ultra-deepwater and frontier exploration. 

“What we are seeing in 2026 is a clear shift in where operators are willing to deploy capital. Ultra-deepwater and frontier plays remain capital-intensive, but they also offer scale and material upside at a time when conventional opportunities are increasingly limited. Africa stands out because it still combines geological potential with the prospect of large, commercially meaningful discoveries, particularly for operators looking to secure long-life resources in a tightening global supply environment,” said Aatisha Mahajan, head of exploration, oil & gas research, Rystad Energy. 

Factors that determine how high-impact a well is include resources size, potential hydrocarbon plays in frontier or emerging basins, and their significance to the operator.