Al-Shalawi: “NOVA 2026: From Exploration to Production; Could It Open a New Chapter for Libyan Oil?”

Economist and oil expert Abdulmonsef Al-Shalawi wrote:

Libya is facing an opportunity to redraw the exploration map, and the success of NOVA will be measured by what is transformed from ideas into investments and production.

Economist Al-Shalawi said that the holding of NOVA 2026 in Benghazi comes at an important time for Libya’s oil and gas sector, amid renewed exploration activity, rising production levels, and renewed interest from international companies in the Libyan market.

The importance of the conference is not limited to its role as an exhibition bringing together local and international companies. Rather, it lies in the fact that it brings exploration, field development, investment, technology, and digital transformation together on a single platform, which aligns with the sector’s needs in the coming phase.

Libya possesses one of the largest oil reserve bases in Africa, with more than 48 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, according to OPEC data. This makes exploration a different issue for Libya compared with many other countries. Libya is not simply looking for new resources; it is seeking to transform its substantial geological potential into reserves that can be developed and produced, generating sustainable revenues.

The year 2026 has already brought important indications of the potential to expand the resource base, including the National Oil Corporation’s announcement of a gas discovery of approximately one trillion cubic feet in the offshore area, with estimates that it could add around 130 million cubic feet per day to production following development and connection. This was in addition to the announcement that another discovery, with estimated reserves of around 195 million barrels of oil, was commercially viable.

At the same time, increased production from existing fields confirms that the opportunity does not lie in exploration alone. In June, the National Oil Corporation announced that crude oil production had reached approximately 1.439 million barrels per day, the highest announced level since 2013, with a target of reaching 1.5 million barrels per day before the end of 2026.

These figures are important because they confirm that Libya’s equation should not be based on choosing between exploration and increasing production from existing fields. Rather, both tracks must be pursued simultaneously: current production finances the economy, while exploration and development lay the foundations for future production.

The return of international companies to exploration activity represents an important development. In February 2026, Libya held its first exploration licensing round since 2007, resulting in five of the 20 blocks offered being awarded to international companies and alliances, including Chevron, Eni, QatarEnergy, Repsol, and other partners, in the Sirte and Murzuq basins and offshore areas.

This return gives NOVA 2026 additional importance, as the conference comes at a stage when Libya has already begun reopening the exploration sector to international investment. The objective, therefore, should be to build on and expand this interest to include more companies, technologies, and capital.

The NOVA program addresses fundamental topics ranging from sedimentary basin potential, data, and licensing to reservoir management, improving recovery factors, and enhancing production, before moving on to artificial intelligence, data science, automation, and the digital oilfield. These are not separate topics, but interconnected links in the modern oil industry.

Technology has become a decisive factor in increasing the value derived from every barrel produced, not only in discovering new barrels. Libya’s own experience provides examples of this. Arabian Gulf Oil Company, in cooperation with SLB, succeeded in increasing the production of one well from around 300 to approximately 4,000 barrels per day using natural flow. Programs are also being implemented for development drilling, well rehabilitation, and improving reservoir efficiency across a number of companies.

The real test of the success of NOVA 2026 will not be the number of attendees or participating companies, but what happens after the conference ends. Will discussions turn into exploration studies? Will opportunities turn into licenses and investments? Will technology be transferred to production sites? And will the recommendations become measurable and monitorable action programs?

What is needed is the establishment of a clear mechanism for following up on the conference’s outcomes, so that the recommendations do not remain confined to papers and discussions, but instead become a roadmap for exploration, development, investment, and technology.

Libya is facing a genuine opportunity. We have the reserves, national expertise, an existing oil infrastructure, and renewed international interest. What we need is to bring these elements together within a single system capable of transforming potential into sustainable economic value.

In conclusion, NOVA 2026 could represent an important starting point for a new phase in Libya’s oil and gas sector if it succeeds in building practical bridges between research centers, national institutions, Libyan companies, international companies, investors, and universities. The future of the sector will not be determined solely by the amount Libya produces today, but by its ability to discover what it will produce tomorrow, develop it efficiently, and maintain sustainable production for decades to come.

Exploration is the beginning of the story, and production is its outcome. Technology, investment, and efficiency are the tools that transform wealth into value.