Libya is to offer 22 oil exploration blocks in its first bidding round in more than 17 years, the state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) has said.

The round includes 11 onshore and 11 offshore blocks, The Libya Observer newspaper reported.

The decision was confirmed during the 11th meeting of the Supreme Council of Energy and Water Affairs held last week, which is headed by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah. However, no exact timeline was given.

Last month, Libya resumed production at the Mabruk oilfield after a decade-long shutdown, Reuters reported, citing the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity.

Oil and gas accounts for around 95 percent of the Opec member’s revenues, while eastern Libya – under the control of Khalifa Haftar – produces about two-thirds of its oil. The NOC has oversight of Libya’s oil revenues.

In a recent interview with National Libyan TV, Sulaiman outlined NOC’s strategic plan to increase oil production from its current 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) to a long-term target of two million bpd.

Without rapid reform of the country’s oil sector, a financial crisis is on the cards, with public sector salaries at risk within months, Salem Maiar, a consultant in Libyan natural resources wrote in AGBI in February.

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