TRIPOLI, Dec 6, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Libya will announce early next year which companies won its first tender for oil and gas exploration licences in nearly two decades, an official from Libya's National Oil Corporation said Saturday.

Libya has Africa's largest oil reserves, at an estimated 48.4 billion barrels.

"The winners of the new round of licences for foreign companies will be announced between February and March," NOC board of directors member Hussain Safar told AFP.

The permits notably concern "promising offshore areas", he said in Tripoli on the sidelines of the Libya-Africa International Gas Forum.

Libya's last call for tenders for hydrocarbon exploration, in 2007-2008, focused on natural gas exploration.

The authorities launched their latest public tender in March in a bid to draw major global energy companies back to the resource-rich country after years of political instability and fluctuations in production levels.

Libya is split between a UN-recognised government in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and commander Khalifa Haftar's administration in the east.

The North African country has been divided since a NATO-backed revolt toppled and killed longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.