Patricia Jose Perez
Libya, a country prominently known for its abundant natural gas reserves, has unfortunately experienced an 8 percent decrease in its natural gas production. This alarming statistic was revealed by the Audit Bureau of Libya in a recent report. The report traces this decline back to the gradual depletion of the existing wells and a concerning lack of new discoveries.
In the year 2022, the total gross gas output of Libya was calculated at 861.96 billion cubic feet (24.40 billion cubic meters), which fell significantly short of the targeted 941.7 billion cubic feet (26.6 billion cubic meters). However, the actual net production is considerably lower due to several contributing factors. These include wasteful combustion of spontaneously released gas during extraction, deficiencies in infrastructure, lack of maintenance, and ongoing political divisions. These factors collectively result in the estimated net production being a mere 12-15 billion cubic meters of gas.
Interestingly, the report also highlights that while Libya theoretically has the capacity to export up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas to Italy annually through the Greenstream gas pipeline, in 2022, the total quantity exported did not exceed 2.48 billion cubic meters. This figure equates to just 10 percent of the total gross production, leaving a vast quantity of potential exports unrealized.
Libya, a country prominently known for its abundant natural gas reserves, has unfortunately experienced an 8 percent decrease in its natural gas production. This alarming statistic was revealed by the Audit Bureau of Libya in a recent report. The report traces this decline back to the gradual depletion of the existing wells and a concerning lack of new discoveries.
In the year 2022, the total gross gas output of Libya was calculated at 861.96 billion cubic feet (24.40 billion cubic meters), which fell significantly short of the targeted 941.7 billion cubic feet (26.6 billion cubic meters). However, the actual net production is considerably lower due to several contributing factors. These include wasteful combustion of spontaneously released gas during extraction, deficiencies in infrastructure, lack of maintenance, and ongoing political divisions. These factors collectively result in the estimated net production being a mere 12-15 billion cubic meters of gas.
Interestingly, the report also highlights that while Libya theoretically has the capacity to export up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas to Italy annually through the Greenstream gas pipeline, in 2022, the total quantity exported did not exceed 2.48 billion cubic meters. This figure equates to just 10 percent of the total gross production, leaving a vast quantity of potential exports unrealized.
