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Libya’s NOC has achieved its highest average crude oil production rate in a decade, according to recent NOC figures

With an aim to advance transparency, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) of Libya has released its average daily crude oil production and total (cumulative) production statistics for the past 10 years. 

According to the table released, 2025 has recorded the highest average production rate in comparison to the last decade, at 1.374 million barrels per day. Total crude oil production for the year reached 501 million barrels, marking a positive shift in the NOC’s strategy to boost crude oil production rates. The NOC acknowledged the role of the employees at all production sites.

Majors have showed increased interest in the region throughout 2025. TotalEnergies had kickstarted work on the Waha and Sharara fields, while also exploring opportunities in the Sirte and Murzuq basins.

Speaking about the region, the company's senior vice president for the Middle East and North Africa, Julien Pouget, said, “With 40% of Africa’s reserves, Libya remains largely untapped.” 
Repsol, too, has resumed drilling in Murzuq Basin onshore Libya. Lauding the region's efforts in fighting natural field decline and encouraging exploration, Repsol's executive managing director, exploration & production, Francisco Gea showed faith in achieving the country's production target of two million barrels per day. 

Eni is set to launch three exploration plays in the region – shallow, deepwater and ultra-deep offshore, and is also deeply invested in Libyan gas with the US$10bn Greenstream pipeline and a CO2 capture and storage plant in Mellitah.

While bp and Shell both signed exploration agreements with NOC last year to assess exploration opportunities.

Libya’s latest upstream licensing round launched in March 2025, the first in 18 years, has attracted more than 40 bids, signalling growing international interest in its largely untapped hydrocarbon potential.

The bid round, launched in March 2025, offers 22 blocks for exploration and development (11 Offshore and 11 Onshore) including areas with undeveloped discoveries estimated to contain a minimum of 2.0 Bboe in hydrocarbon resources.

At the Libya Energy & Economic Summit 2025 last year, Bashir Garea, technical advisor to the chairman of the NOC, said the country has 48 billion barrels of discovered but unexploited oil, with total potential estimated at 90 billion barrels, especially offshore, adding that Libya also has 122 trillion cubic feet of gas yet to be developed. More investment and new technology is needed to unlock this potential, he said.

Protests in Iran are threatening to disrupt the country’s upstream sector and highlighting a deeper economic crisis, according to Rystad Energy analysis

Iran has restored output and exports despite sanctions, but at a rising cost: deeper discounts to China, expensive ‘shadow’ logistics and shrinking fiscal buffers, including the running down of its National Development Fund (NDF).

Iranian crude production is expected to remain stable at around 3.2mn bpd this year, according to Rystad, with limited short-term disruption to upstream operations, despite significant financing and redevelopment hurdles. The greater risk currently is the geopolitical risk premium as tensions rise and uncertainty persists. With the US administration of President Donald Trump exerting maximum economic pressure on Iran’s trading partners and threatening military intervention, the Middle Eastern oil giant will likely entrench itself even further.

“Iran’s familiar tactics, such as closing the Strait of Hormuz, banking on its trade with China and threatening nuclear escalation, are still on the table, yet must be weighed by their own potential for backfiring on the regime. Economically, Iran has been cornered by heavy sanctions, yet the country has managed to protect what limited revenue remains. Although the US has announced that it will impose a 25% tariff on countries that trade with Iran, China’s crude buying patterns are expected to remain stable. China has an established practice of sourcing discounted barrels from sanctioned producers, and Iran has a proven ability to sustain exports through sanctions evading trade networks. For the status quo to be truly disrupted, external intervention would have to take place,” said Aditya Saraswat, MENA research director at Rystad Energy.

Amid the backdrop of international pressure, Iran’s economy has faced enormous constraints, with inflation standing at 40% as the government’s total budget only nominally increased from US$98bn to US$111bn in the past year. National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is officially entitled to 14.5% of total oil and gas exports, which stood at 1.85mn bpd in the current budget. However one-third of oil exports were handed over to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and expected oil exports have now dropped to 1mn bpd, while the benchmark oil price has been lowered to US$57 per barrel from US$63 per barrel, reducing NIOC’s total receivables.

In addition, many of Iran’s core producing assets are in late life and experiencing steep natural declines. Underinvestment in maintenance, workovers and pressure support will accelerate the decline rates of these legacy fields. Many gas fields have complex structures and low recovery rates that pose challenges for local contractors. With assets under pressure, Iran’s NDF, which was designed to preserve a share of oil and gas revenues for future generations, continues to be treated as a source of near-term financing.

“From the regime’s point of view, the only redeeming factor in this situation is China’s role as the key driver of export revenues. As it stands, China accounts for 90% of Iran’s oil exports, with even a portion of cargoes booked for ‘unknown’ destinations ending up in China. Although the current export model looks feasible in the near term, its sustainability is becoming more conditional,” Saraswat said.

The recovery of Iran’s exports has been driven mainly by discounting, with additional costs incurred by measures required to evade sanctions, such as operating a shadow fleet. Without access to conventional banking channels, Iran relies on yuan-denominated accounts, barter arrangements or circuitous money-laundering pathways that extract substantial commissions. These structural inefficiencies mean Iran receives only two-thirds of benchmark oil, threatening Iran's ability to make a profit, even amid low upstream breakevens of US$20 to US$25 per barrel.

“Iran’s survival under sanctions reflects a mix of sustained upstream investment, strong trade relationships and covert workarounds. The continued brownfield redevelopment of mature fields has helped keep output stable, while contracts awarded to local players have added incremental volumes. However, a heavier reliance on China has drawbacks for Iran. Its margins will weaken as shadow logistics and intermediaries are priced in, and demand could be volatile as quotas and refinery runs change,” Saraswat concluded.

Aramco, Honeywell and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) are collaborating to scale up the development of Crude-to-Chemicals (CTC) technology in a bid to maximise the value of crude oil and reduce costs associated with CTC conversion 

The new CTC pathway will entail converting crude oil directly into light olefins and other high-demand chemicals, resulting in improved fuel efficiency, carbon utilisation, and process economics—allowing for more efficient and cost-effective production at scale.

The collaboration aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 by helping to advance economic diversification, build national research and technology capabilities, and strengthen the Kingdom’s position in the global chemicals market, combining academia and industry expertise to accelerate technology development and national capabilities.

Dr. Ali A. Al-Meshari, Aramco senior vice president of technology oversight & coordination, said, “This collaboration with Honeywell UOP and KAUST furthers Aramco's efforts to drive innovation and shape the future of petrochemicals. By harnessing the power of cutting-edge technologies, we aim to enhance energy efficiency and unlock increased value from every barrel of crude. This novel Crude-to-Chemicals process is aligned with our vision of supporting the global transition towards cleaner, high-performance chemical production. Moreover, this initiative demonstrates our focus on contributing to the growth of a vibrant ecosystem, where the deployment of innovative technologies can create lasting value for our stakeholders, our communities, and the environment.”

Rajesh Gattupalli, Honeywell UOP president, added, “This agreement marks a defining moment in our strategic collaboration with Aramco and KAUST – and in the global evolution of Crude-to-Chemicals technology. With Honeywell UOP’s deep expertise in catalytic process design and commercial scale-up, we’re well positioned to drive this innovation forward.”

Blackline Safety has launched G8, a new connected gas detector with a rugged, IP-67 rating designed to meet the most demanding industrial environments

Building on the company's G7 line, the new detector combines advanced gas detection, lone worker protection, and radio-quality communication in one rugged device that connects workers to each other, to their safety teams, and to the broader digital worksite — with real-time data streamed to the cloud.

The detector features swappable cartridges covering more than 20 gases, dual-band GNSS/GPS (L1/L5), delivering more reliable positioning in challenging environments, and access to ZoneAware geofencing in Blackline Live.

Offering enhanced speaker and mic technology it enables loud, clear worldwide radio functionality so crews can talk across sites, regions, or even countries; emergency voice calling – connecting workers directly with a live monitoring agent when an alert is triggered; text messaging and mass notifications; an internal full-range speaker delivering up to 1W of audio power, and optional RSM with up to 1.5W output to extend sound capability even further.

A 64-colour backlit display and 35-lumen, easy-access flashlight offer reliable visibility in low-light or confined spaces.

Live data is streamed from the device to Blackline’s data and analytics platform—Blackline Live—via the cloud. This gives safety leaders real-time visibility into worker status, gas readings, and site conditions, and it gives operations teams actionable insights to prevent incidents, reduce delays, and keep projects moving.

G8 is future-ready to plug into other digital platforms from human resource management systems (HRMS) to field service management tools to hot-permitting applications and more. It will continue to evolve with new capabilities, expanded integrations, and emerging technologies like AI-driven insights.

“G8 gives workers access to the tools and information they need to confidently get the job done and get home safe,” said Cody Slater, CEO and chair, Blackline Safety. “By unifying gas detection, real-time monitoring, and communication in one connected device, we’re delivering more than incremental improvement. We’re giving every worker a direct line to the people, data, systems and support they need to make faster, safer decisions.”

Despite advances in digital technology, many oil and gas sites across the Middle East still rely on manual entry for tank and vessel inspections, resulting in days of downtime, high scaffolding costs and risk to human life

What if you could change all that with drone technology?

Inspections drones such as the Elios 3 are revolutionising the world of confined space inspections, improving safety, reducing downtime and enhancing operational efficiency.

Join us for an exclusive live webinar hosted by Flyability in association with Oil Review Middle East on ‘Transforming oil and gas operations with the Elios 3 drone’ on Tuesday 2 September at 2pm GST. Industrial experts will explain how drones such as the Elios 3 are transforming confined space inspections, and how you can integrate this technology into your operations seamlessly.

Key highlights:

Drone integration: learn how to safety and effectively implement drones in confined space
Safety and training: understand essential safety protocols and training strategies for your team
ROI: discover how to measure and achieve a strong return on investment with drone technology
Real world use cases: hear from the engineers using drone tech in the field on the impact Elios 3 is having on in oil and gas inspections.

Speakers and host:

Fabio Fata – senior sales manager, Flyability (moderator)
Eralp Koltuk – inspection lead engineer, Tüpraş
Danijel Jovanovic – director of operations, ZainTECH

Take your operations to the next level! Don’t miss out on gaining valuable insights into how drones can make inspections safer, faster and smarter .

From making inspections in hazardous confined spaces much safer to streamlining the whole process and providing valuable real-time data, you will get to see exactly how the Elios 3 is changing the game.

Register for the free webinar here.

Government and industry responses to UN Environment Programme (UNEP) satellite methane alerts rose from 1% to 12% cent in the past year, and oil and gas methane emissions reporting has improved, but action needs to accelerate to achieve the Global Methane Pledge goal of curbing methane emissions 30% by 2030, according to a new UNEP report

Atmospheric methane continues to be the second biggest driver of climate change after carbon dioxide, responsible for about one-third of the planet’s warming, and real-world data is a critical tool to track and reduce methane emissions.

The fifth edition of the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) publication, An Eye on Methane: From measurement to momentum, finds that member oil and gas companies of IMEO’s Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0) are set to track one-third of emissions from global production using real-world measurements. The OGMP 2.0 is the world’s global standard for methane emissions measurement and mitigation in the oil and gas sector. Over the past five years, OGMP 2.0 membership has more than doubled to 153 companies in the countries, covering 42% of global oil and gas production.

One-third of global oil and gas production reports, or will soon report, emissions at OGMP 2.0’s Gold Standard – meaning emissions are tracked with real-world measurements. This positions a large amount of the global industry to effectively measure – and thus mitigate – emissions. One of the companies achieving 'Gold Standard reporting' in 2024 for having effectively achieved the highest levels of data quality is Eni. OGMP 2.0’s 2025 report recognized Eni for its continued progress, including identifying and quantifying emissions across non-operated assets, as well as training and technical assistance on the LDAR (Leak Detection and Repair) approach to fugitive emissions. LDAR training sessions were organised with the support of UNEP and delivered to National Oil Company (NOC) personnel.

The report highlights that while government and company responses to alerts from IMEO’s Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) have grown tenfold over the previous year, nearly 90% remain unanswered, necessitating an increase in response rates. Through MARS, UNEP has sent over 3,500 alerts about major emissions events across 33 countries. These alerts are based on satellite monitoring and artificial intelligence-supported analysis. IMEO has documented 25 cases of mitigation action in ten countries since MARS was launched in 2022, including across six new countries during the past year.

“Reducing methane emissions can quickly bend the curve on global warming, buying more time for long-term decarbonisation efforts, so it is encouraging that data-driven tools are helping the oil and gas industry to report on their emissions and set ambitious mitigation targets,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of UNEP. “But to keep the Paris Agreement targets within reach, the important progress on reporting must translate into cuts to emissions. Every company should join the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0, and both governments and operators must respond to satellite alerts – then they must act to reduce emissions.”