It was so fun to see American golfer Colin Morikawa win his PGA Tour at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California after a 28-month hiatus. And hearing him announce his wife Kat Zhu is expecting made the win even more special.
It was a unique way to welcome the Lunar New Year, which started on 17 February. I wish those celebrating this holiday fun and success in the year of the horse.
Now, let’s look into two pieces of energy news from last week.
Shangyou Nie
Editor, Well Read
Libya Issues Five Awards During Its First Bid Round in 17 Years
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The National Oil Corporation of Libya awarded five blocks to Chevron, ENI, Repsol, Hungary’s MOL, and Nigeria’s Aiteo. The other 15 blocks on offer did not receive any bids.
The low award rate was disappointing, but Chevron’s entry into Libya is noteworthy as the world's second-largest IOC continues to build its global exploration portfolio.
From the bid round:
Libya’s NOC opened its first bid round in 17 years in March 2025, with 29 IOCs pre-qualified, including all the majors.
On 11 February 2026, NOC announced the results of its bid round with 20 blocks (11 onshore and nine offshore).
Masoud Suleiman, Chairman of the NOC, said that this bid round “marks a significant turning point in the development of the Libyan oil sector,” as the NOC embarks on its “Return to Life.”
Suleiman added that the bid round’s success was not measured by how many blocks were awarded, but by the confidence the industry has restored in investing in Liyba.
The award ceremony was held in Tripoli and was attended by Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah and several other ministers.
Winner details:
Chevron won Area S4, onshore Sirte Basin, over a rival joint bid from TotalEnergies and ConocoPhillips.
Chevron said in November that it plans to increase its exploration budget by 50 percent during the next few years.
Repsol and Turkish national company TPAO won two blocks: Area C3 in the Cyrenaica Basin and Area O7 (Repsol 40 percent, TPAO 40 percent, and MOL 20 percent).
ENI (60 percent) and Qatar Energy (40 percent) won Area O1 in the offshore Sirte Basin.
Nigerian independent Aiteo won Area M1 in the Murzuk Basin.
Why the low award rate: According to Cristina Tome Martinez, S&P Global’s Editor for Libya, several factors might have contributed to the disappointing results of this highly anticipated bid round:
Continued political divide and security concerns, including clashes in May 2025 in Tripoli
Fiscal uncertainty due to two rival power centers, the Government of National Unity in Tripoli and the House of Representatives in the east
Lack of clarity around fiscal improvements, some of which were clarified later in the bid process
A high level of required production and reserves, which prevented some independents from participating
Lack of interest by non-majors in gas-prone blocks
Background:
Libya wants to increase its production from the current 1.4 million barrels per day to 2.0 million barrels per day by 2030.
Several companies have signed agreements with NOC in out-of-round blocks, including BP and Shell.
TotalEnergies signed an agreement with the NOC in January to extend the big onshore Waha assets to 2050 during Libya’s Energy & Economic Summit in Tripoli.
TotalEnergies’ new agreement includes improved fiscal terms that will help increase production from the current 370,000 barrels per day to 470,000 barrels per day.
In addition, during a meeting in Kuwait last week, NOC said it intends to increase pipeline gas export to Europe in the near future.
What to watch:
NOC said that it plans to hold additional bid rounds in 2026.
According to Bloomberg, NOC officials pledged to make improvements for future bid rounds.
“Negotiations will take place to improve terms and reach an understanding between the tender committee and international investors,” said Suleiman.
One bid round will be on marginal field development, and another bid round will be on unconventional opportunities in Libya.
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Licensing round of nine free blocks of the Cameroon oil and gas domain.
The Trump Administration Issues Five Licenses for IOCs to Invest in Venezuela
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Last Friday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a general license that will allow one American (Chevron) and four European companies (Shell, BP, ENI, and Repsol) to invest in oil and gas operations in Venezuela. Additionally, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a general license for other companies to negotiate contracts for oil and gas in Venezuela, provided the contracts are approved by its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
About the licenses:
On 13 February, OFAC issued General License No. 50, “authorizing transactions related to oil or gas sector operations in Venezuela of certain entities.”
Two conditions are required to qualify under GL 50:
The contracts must be governed by U.S. laws, and any resolutions for contract disputes must occur in the United States.
Any payments of oil and gas taxes or royalties to Venezuela or PDVSA must be paid into the Foreign Government Deposit Funds or any other account as instructed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
On the same day, OFAC issued GL 49, “authorizing negotiations of and entry into contingent contracts for certain investments in Venezuela.”
Such contingent contracts need “separate authorization from the Office of Foreign Assets Control.”
Both GLs state that transactions with entities from Russia, North Korea, Cuba, Iran, and China are prohibited.
Background:
Current Venezuela production is roughly 900,000 barrels per day, according to the WSJ—less than one-third of its high of 3 million barrels per day during the 1990s.
The Venezuelan government and PDVSA have recently announced fiscal improvements and other conditions to invite foreign investors.
Wright said that the Venezuelan government is making “enormous progress” in transforming its oil industry.
Wright told the WSJ “We’re early on in a transition period… We have a plan. [Rodriguez] knows the plan.”
It remains to be seen how investments from Chinese, Indian, Russian, and Venezuelan companies will be handled going forward.
According to Bloomberg, Trump said on 31 January, “China is welcome to come in and make a great deal on oil,” and “India’s coming in, and they’re going to be buying Venezuelan oil,” as opposed to buying oil from Russia or Iran.
What they’re saying: “We’re massively changing the viability of commercial business on the ground in Venezuela, and American interest in it is just overwhelming,” said Wright to reporters.
AAPG is planning a two-day symposium on Venezuela between 18 and 19 May in Houston. Plan to attend and see more details here.
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