The Madbouly government has agreed to purchase 3% of Libya’s monthly oil output at international prices, with Libya agreeing to flexible payment terms, covering between 1 mn and 1.2 mn barrels per month, a government official tells EnterpriseAM. Supplies are expected from eastern fields including Messla, Zella, and Nafoora — all within reach of lower-cost transport.

Why it matters: The government is now looking westward to offset the halt in Kuwaiti supplies that are caught in the crossfire of the war on Iran. Libyan crude offers a good substitution as it is similar in quality to Egypt’s Western Desert output, which means refineries in Amreya can process the barrels efficiently, Professor of Petroleum and Energy Engineering Gamal Al Qalyoubi tells us. With this imported crude being sourced from border areas, it will activate overland transport routes — reducing reliance on expensive maritime shipping, and limiting exposure to supply-chain disruptions linked to the ongoing conflict.

So why wasn’t the choice made earlier? Limited reliance in the past came down to Libya’s political and security conditions, Al Qalyoubi explains.

DATA POINT- Libya’s output is running at a decade high, with production rising to around 1.4 mn barrels per day, the highest level in more than 10 years, equal to some 42.9 mn barrels per month.

IN CONTEXT- Egypt-Libya ties are deepening again recently, with talks resuming in January to expand the electricity interconnection line, from 150 MW to 2 GW, aimed at easing chronic shortages in eastern Libya, a senior government official told us. Our Western neighbour is also turning Al Jawf Dry Port southwest Libya into the cornerstone of a joint freezone and a launchpad for Egyptian exports to Libya, and the wider intra-African trade.

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