25-04-07 Libya will announce a date for a new round of bidding for hydrocarbons exploration licences before July 1. Libya will concentrate on areas likely to yield gas, Libya's National Oil Corporation chairman, Shokri Ghanem, said.
"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. "We will announce a date for the fourth round before July 1," he added.

The previous three rounds focused more on oil exploration. Libya wants to attract foreign investment to help it increase its gas and oil output capacity. It aims to expand oil production capacity to more than 3.0 mm bpd by 2010/12 from about 1.6 mm bpd now.
NOC says that less than third of Libya has been explored for hydrocarbons. Libya is attracting keen interest from energy firms seeking to exploit major reserves. Libya holds Africa's largest crude-oil reserves.

Libya's gas reserves of 52 tcf are the fourth-largest in Africa, after Nigeria, Algeria and Egypt, according to BP. It produces about 12 bn cm of gas a year, 8 bn of which are exported to Italy. Less than 1 bn cm are liquefied and shipped to Spain on tankers and the rest is consumed locally.
Libya is the fourth-largest producer of gas in Africa behind Algeria, Egypt and Nigeria. It is planning to auction exploration rights in 20 plots of land located in gas-prone areas this year, as part of a plan to increase output of the fuel, National Oil Corp. Chairman Shokri Ghanem said. Major companies from the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa had won several permits to explore for oil and gas in the three licensing rounds in the past two years.