TRIPOLI, Libya: Oil cartel OPEC saw production rise in December, as Libya’s energy sector sprang back to life following a cease-fire deal in the war-torn country.
Sitting atop Africa’s largest proven crude oil reserves, Libya has been ravaged by conflict since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed long-time dictator Muammar Qaddafi.
As global oil prices remain volatile in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which has rattled the world economy, and further rounds of UN-backed peace talks to build on the October cease-fire and resolve Libya’s long conflict, what are the prospects for the country’s production?
Libya’s is now producing 1,224 million barrels per day (bpd) — a tenfold increase from a 121,000 bpd average in the third quarter of 2020, before the cease-fire deal.
But that is still below the levels of the Qaddafi era, said Francis Perrin, head of research at the Paris-based Institute for International and Strategic Affairs.
Libya was then producing between 1.5 million and 1.6 million barrels per day, he told AFP.
Demand for crude has sunk under the impact of Covid-19 and producing nations have been adjusting output to support prices.
Libya’s surge has meant production for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries reached 25.36 million bpd in December, an increase of 278,000 bpd compared with the previous month.
Libya is exempt from OPEC’s production quotas, so the cartel needs to keep an eye on its output.
Libyan petroleum engineer Al-Mahdi Omar, however, said his country’s industry was “still in difficulty,” despite the spike.
“It’s a miracle that the oil sector continues to function despite the dilapidation and damage of infrastructure due to war, negligence or sabotage,” he said.
The oil and gas sector represents around 60 percent of Libya’s GDP.
In January last year, armed groups loyal to eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar blocked production and exports from Libya’s most important oil fields and terminals.
They demanded a “fairer” distribution of revenues, which are managed by the UN-recognized Government of National Accord in Tripoli.
The GNA is backed by Turkey, while Haftar is supported by Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
Haftar agreed in September to lift the blockade, several months after the failure of an offensive by his fighters to take the capital.
The blockade resulted in lost revenues of almost $10 billion, the National Oil Corporation has estimated.
On October 26, just days after the cease-fire was agreed, the NOC said it had lifted force majeure — external unforeseen elements that prevent a party from fulfilling a contract — on the last oil facility in the country.
And while all Libya’s oil fields are back online, the NOC announced earlier this month that a pipeline had been closed for maintenance, causing a drop in production of around 200,000 bpd, Bloomberg reported.
“This gives you an indication that the infrastructure in Libya is really in bad shape,” Bloomberg quoted NOC chief Mustafa Sanalla as saying.
Perrin said there was scope for further improvement to Libya’s oil production, “but not immediately.”
“In the short term, if it manages to maintain its current levels, that would be very good,” he said.
“The main uncertainty is political.”
Lifting the blockade has allowed production and exports to rise since September, but “this is part of a temporary agreement, a truce — it’s not a peace deal,” Perrin warned.
The country is also seeking support from foreign oil companies to help repair its infrastructure, according to Bloomberg.
“We are now discussing with our partners how to finance and how they can help us,” it quoted the NOC chief as saying.
Libyan economist Nouri Al-Hammi said the country’s oil recovery remained “fragile.”
“Only fair revenue distribution and the creation of real development opportunities can settle the sector’s problems,” he said.
Distribution of oil revenues in Libya is a thorny issue and crucial to settling the conflict.
After a decade of war, the October cease-fire has set the stage for elections at the end of this year.
Resources-sharing between Tripoli and the east is “a key element of the discussions between the two parties... It could make or break the nascent truce,” Perrin said.
It is “a sword of Damocles that hangs over Libya’s oil production.”
Blockades of important sites will remain a constant threat to production “if discussions on revenue-sharing fail to reach a compromise,” he warned.
For engineer Omar, oil in Libya has been key ever since the discovery at the end of the 1950s of its reserves, the largest in Africa.
“It is at the heart of negotiations between the Libyan adversaries, but also between their foreign supporters,” he said.
Libya oil output makes high-stake but fragile return
https://arab.news/wqqwm
Libya oil output makes high-stake but fragile return
- Libya’s is now producing 1,224 million bpd, a tenfold increase from a 121,000 bpd average in the third quarter of 2020
- Demand for crude has sunk under the impact of Covid-19 and producing nations have been adjusting output to support prices
Saudi Arabia sets global benchmark in AI modernization
- Executives hail the Kingdom’s robust infrastructure and strategic workforce programs
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is emerging as a global leader in artificial intelligence, according to executives from OpenText, one of the world’s largest enterprise information management companies.
With 22 years of international AI experience, Harald Adams, OpenText’s senior vice president of sales for international markets, said the Kingdom’s modernization efforts are now setting a global standard.
“From my perspective, Saudi Arabia is not only leading the modernization towards artificial intelligence in the Middle East, I think it is even not leading it only in the MENA region. I think it is leading it globally,” Adams told Arab News.
In an interview, Adams and George Schembri, vice president and general manager for the Middle East at OpenText, discussed the Kingdom’s significant investments in AI during the inauguration of OpenText’s new regional headquarters in Riyadh.
“So for us (OpenText), from our perspective, it was a strategic decision to move our MENA headquarters to Saudi Arabia because we believe that we will see here a lot of innovation coming out of the country, we can replicate not only to the MENA region, maybe even further to the global level,” Adams said.
The new headquarters, located in the King Abdullah Financial District, will serve as a central hub for OpenText customers and partners across the Middle East. Its opening reflects a broader trend of tech giants relocating to Riyadh, signaling the Kingdom’s rise as a hub for global AI innovation.
Adams attributed Saudi Arabia’s lead in AI modernization to a combination of substantial financial backing, a unified national strategy, and a remarkable pace of execution.
“I mean, a couple of things, because the ingredients in Saudi Arabia are of course, quite interesting. On the one hand side, Saudi Arabia has deep pockets and great ambitions. And they are, I mean, and they are executing fast, yeah,” he said.
“So from that perspective, at the moment, what we see is that there are, especially on the government side, I can’t see any other government organizations globally moving faster into that direction than it is happening in Saudi Arabia. Not in the region, not even on a global level, they are leading the game,” he underlined.
Schembri added, “Saudi’s AI vision is one of the most ambitious in the world, and AI on a national scale is not good without trusted, secured, and governed, and this is where OpenText helps to enable the Saudi organizations to be able to deliver on the 2030 Vision.”
“The Kingdom’s focus on AI and digital transformation creates a powerful opportunity for organizations to unlock value from their information,” Schembri stated.
“With OpenText on the ground in Riyadh, our customers gain direct access to trusted global expertise combined with local insight — enabling them to manage information securely, scale AI with confidence, and compete on a global stage,” he added.
DID YOU KNOW?
• Saudi Arabia ranks 5th globally and 1st in the region for AI growth under the 2025 Global AI Index.
• The Kingdom is also 3rd globally in advanced AI model development, trailing only the US and China.
• AI is projected to contribute $235.2 billion — or 12.4 percent — to Saudi Arabia’s GDP by 2030.
The inauguration of OpenText’s new regional headquarters was attended by Canada’s Minister of International Trade and Economic Development, Maninder Sidhu, and Jean-Philippe Linteau, Canada’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Sidhu emphasized the alignment of Saudi Vision 2030 with Canada’s economic and innovation goals.
“His Highness (Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman) and Vision 2030, there is a lot of alignment with Canada, as you know, with the economic collaboration, with his vision around mining, around education, tourism, healthcare, you look at AI and tech, there’s a lot of alignment here at OpenText Grand opening their regional headquarters,” Sidhu told Arab News.
Saudi Arabia’s AI ambitions are projected to contribute $235.2 billion — or 12.4 percent — to its GDP by 2030, according to PwC. The Saudi Data and AI Authority, established by a royal decree in 2019, drives the Kingdom’s national data and AI strategy.
One flagship initiative, Humain, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was launched in May 2025 under the Public Investment Fund. It aims to build a full AI stack — from data centers and cloud infrastructure to models and applications — positioning Saudi Arabia as a globally competitive AI hub. The project plans to establish a data center capacity of 1.8 GW by 2030 and 100 GW of AI compute capacity by 2026.
Saudi Arabia is also expanding international partnerships. In May 2025, Humain signed a $5 billion agreement with Amazon Web Services to accelerate AI adoption domestically and globally, focusing on infrastructure, services, and talent development.
The Kingdom ranked fifth globally and first in the Arab region for AI sector growth under the 2025 Global AI Index, and third worldwide in advanced AI model development, behind only the US and China, according to the Stanford University AI Index 2025.
Education is another pillar of Saudi AI strategy. Starting in the 2025-26 academic year, AI will be taught as a core subject across all public school grades, reaching roughly 6.7 million students. The curriculum will cover algorithmic thinking, data literacy, and AI ethics.
OpenText executives emphasized their commitment to supporting Vision 2030 and the national AI strategy through workforce development.
“OpenText has put a lot of investment in the Kingdom, right. We brought cloud to the Kingdom, we’ve opened our headquarters in the Kingdom, we’ve basically hiring Saudis in the Kingdom, We basically building, if you like, an ecosystem to support the Kingdom. And on top of that, what we’re doing is we’re putting a plan together, if you like, a program to look at how we can educate, if you like, the students at universities,” Schembri said.
“So this is something that we are looking into, we are basically investigating and to see how we can support the Saudi nationals when they come into the workplace. And I’m really excited. I have Harry who is, our leadership who’s supporting this program.”
“It’s something that we are putting together. It’ll take some effort. So it’s still in play because we want to make sure what we put it basically delivers on what we're trying to achieve based on the vision of Saudi,” he added.
“The younger generation is sooner or later either working for us or maybe for a partner or for maybe for a customer. So that’s why we are to 100 percent committed to enable all of that,” Adams said.
