Ghanem Gives the Ready, Set, Bid

Those in the industry trying to get a foothold in Libya and those looking to expand their North African operations will get another chance before July, according to NOC Chairman, Shokri Ghanem. Ghanem announced that the next bid round for exploration licenses should launch before July 1.

The licenses up for auction are likely to be gas prone regions according to Ghanem. "The fourth licensing round will focus on areas where gas is expected to be found. We are working now at deciding on these blocks and the conditions for that round," Shokri Ghanem told reporters. "We will announce a date for the fourth round before July 1," he added.

Libya’s  last three bid rounds focused on oil, but as the government looks to gain more export revenues from oil, it is pushing natural gas exploration to aid in fueling the country, as well as for export dollars.

Libya's gas reserves of 52 trillion cubic feet are the fourth-largest in Africa, behind Nigeria, Algeria and Egypt, although the country is considered under explored and may top even Nigeria’s impressive totals with new discoveries over the next decade or so. It produces about 12 billion cubic meters of gas per year, 8 billion of which are exported to Italy.