Libya has enough natural gas to support domestic electricity, industrial growth and a larger export trade with Europe. The central problem is the gap between its resources and what the country can reliably produce, process and deliver.
At the beginning of 2024, Libya held an estimated 53 trillion cubic feet of proved natural gas reserves, placing it among Africa’s largest reserve holders. Yet dry gas production fell from 423 billion cubic feet in 2022 to 394 billion cubic feet in 2023. Mature fields, delayed investment, shutdowns and weak processing infrastructure have limited supply. Libya must therefore serve a large domestic power market while trying to maintain exports through a single pipeline to Italy.
Bahr Essalam and Wafa Anchor Libya’s Gas System
Libya’s natural gas industry is concentrated in the west. The offshore Bahr Essalam fields, northwest of Tripoli, and the onshore Wafa field near the Algerian border provide most of the country’s non-associated gas. Together, they feed the Western Libyan Gas Project and the Mellitah processing complex on the Mediterranean coast.
This concentration creates a clear production chain, but it also creates vulnerability. Problems at a major field, processing unit or pipeline can affect domestic supply and exports at the same time. Bahr Essalam and Wafa are mature assets, increasing the urgency of compression projects, new offshore developments and additional production from the Ghadames Basin.
Associated gas from oil fields offers another supply source. Much of it is found in the Sirte Basin and at offshore oil developments such as Bouri. However, collection, treatment and transport systems are incomplete. When oil production is interrupted, associated gas output can fall. When crude output rises without enough gas-handling capacity, more gas may be flared.
Libya therefore needs both new non-associated fields and better use of gas already produced with oil.
Electricity Demand Competes Directly With Exports
Natural gas is essential to Libya’s electricity system. In 2022, gas supplied about 71% of national power generation, while oil products supplied most of the remainder. The power sector accounted for roughly 85% of domestic gas use.
Domestic gas consumption reached about 305 billion cubic feet in 2023, absorbing more than 70% of production. When supply is insufficient, power stations burn diesel, fuel oil or, in some cases, crude oil. That substitution raises generation costs and reduces the amount of liquid fuel available for export. It also increases pressure on a country that already imports significant volumes of refined petroleum products.
Summer electricity demand can leave less gas available for industry or export. Maintenance at Mellitah, production losses at Bahr Essalam or interruptions elsewhere can quickly tighten the balance.
Higher gas production would therefore have value beyond export revenue. It could reduce oil use in power generation, improve electricity security and allow Libya to sell more crude and petroleum liquids abroad.
Greenstream Gives Libya Direct Access to Italy
The Greenstream pipeline connects Mellitah with Gela in Sicily. It is Libya’s only operating gas export route because the country’s former LNG facility has remained unavailable since the 2011 conflict. Greenstream gives Libya direct access to Italy without requiring a new liquefaction industry.
The pipeline can transport roughly 8 billion cubic metres per year, but actual flows have been far lower. Libya exported around 89 billion cubic feet in 2023, and industry data indicate that deliveries to Italy fell to about 1 billion cubic metres in 2025, down from approximately 1.4 billion cubic metres in 2024. The export constraint is therefore upstream and operational rather than the physical capacity of Greenstream.
Domestic demand, declining mature-field output, maintenance at Mellitah and political instability have repeatedly reduced exportable supply. Libya cannot become a larger European supplier merely because the pipeline exists; it needs dependable feedgas.
If production rises, however, Greenstream can carry more gas without the cost and long development period of a new export system. That makes it one of Libya’s most valuable energy assets.
Gas Flaring Is Libya’s Largest Immediate Supply Loss
Libya flared or vented an estimated 240 billion cubic feet of gas in 2023, one of the highest national totals in the world. The lost volume was substantial compared with both domestic consumption and marketed production.
Flaring is partly an infrastructure problem. Oil fields may produce gas in locations without sufficient gathering lines, compression, treatment plants or connections to power stations. Capturing it may deliver supply faster than developing a completely new field.
The Bouri Gas Utilization Project is built around this opportunity. It aims to collect gas that would otherwise be flared at the offshore Bouri oil field and bring it into productive use. Similar investments could increase marketed gas, reduce emissions and improve the economics of crude production.
Libya has set a goal of ending routine flaring by 2030. Reaching it will depend on funding, stable operating conditions and infrastructure able to receive the recovered supply.
New Projects Must Arrive Before Mature Production Falls Further
Libya’s near-term outlook rests heavily on projects led by the National Oil Corporation and Eni. Sabratha Compression is intended to support Bahr Essalam as reservoir pressure declines. The Bouri project is meant to recover associated gas. Structures A&E would develop two offshore fields and connect them to Mellitah, creating the largest new source of Libyan gas in many years.
Eni’s schedule presented in March 2026 placed Sabratha Compression in the second quarter of 2026, Bouri Gas Utilization in the fourth quarter and Structures A&E in 2028. Structures A&E is expected to reach roughly 750 million standard cubic feet per day when fully developed. Its scale could materially improve the balance between domestic supply and exports, but its later start means Libya must manage decline at existing fields in the meantime.
Exploration has also regained momentum. In March 2026, Eni announced two discoveries south of Bahr Essalam containing more than 1 trillion cubic feet of gas in place. Their location near existing infrastructure may support a faster development path than a remote discovery. New gas was also found in the Ghadames Basin near Wafa, while Libya’s first competitive licensing round since 2007 returned international companies to onshore and offshore acreage.
These developments improve the resource outlook, but appraisal, approval, drilling and construction must still follow before discoveries become supply.
Libya’s Gas Future Depends on Reliable Execution
Libya has reserves, established fields, a major processing hub and a direct pipeline to Europe. Few potential suppliers begin with that combination. Its weakness is the reliability of the system connecting those assets.
The main task is to prevent mature-field decline from moving faster than new production and gas-capture projects. Sabratha, Bouri and Structures A&E could stabilize supply, while recent discoveries may support the next development cycle. Progress would strengthen electricity generation, reduce oil burning and restore part of Libya’s export role.
Without consistent investment, maintenance and political support, Greenstream will remain underused and domestic shortages will continue to limit the sector. Libya’s gas potential is established. The outcome will be decided by how much can be converted into dependable daily supply.
