Libya Discovers 195 Million Barrel Oil Treasure Amid Gulf Tensions
As attacks by the United States and Iran once again shake the Gulf region, oil prices breach $90 per barrel, and the Russia-Ukraine war continues to target energy infrastructure, Libya has received major news from beneath its desert sands. The North African nation has announced the commercial viability of a new oil field with estimated recoverable reserves of 195 million barrels.
Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) stated that the Essar field, also reported as Al-Isar or Al-Eisaar in some Libyan reports, was discovered by Austrian energy company OMV through the drilling of exploration well B1-106/4 in the Sirte Basin. The development plan submitted by OMV has been evaluated and declared economically feasible.
The commercial viability announcement was made by NOC on Thursday, 16 July 2026, and reported by the Libya Herald on Friday, 17 July 2026. The reserves are located in the Upper Sabil and Lower Sabil reservoirs, with an estimated production capacity of approximately 5,000 barrels of oil per day.
Zueitina Oil Operations will act as the operator for the field’s development. NOC stated that Essar’s proximity to existing surface facilities and production infrastructure allows for an accelerated development process, enabling oil to be fed into the production network in a shorter timeframe.
The discovery was not the result of sudden drilling. OMV resumed exploration activities in Libya in October 2024 after a hiatus of approximately 13 years following the 2011 political upheaval. The company subsequently proceeded with drilling well B1-106/4 in contract area 106/4, Sirte Basin.
Preliminary NOC documents regarding the drilling results indicate that the Upper Sabil layer produced a test flow of around 2,000 barrels of oil per day, while the Lower Sabil layer yielded approximately 2,200 barrels per day. Both layers also produced gas, with the oil quality measuring around 42 degrees API, indicating a relatively light crude type.
The well is located approximately six kilometres west of the Intisar 103D field, about 364 kilometres south of Benghazi and 860 kilometres east of Tripoli. Its proximity to existing fields and operational facilities is an advantage, as NOC does not need to build an entire production network from scratch.
Based on a Brent crude price of $90.79 per barrel on Monday, 20 July 2026, production of 5,000 barrels per day has a gross sales value of roughly $453,950 per day. Using the Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (JISDOR) reference from Bank Indonesia of Rp17,944 per US dollar on Friday, 17 July 2026, this equates to approximately Rp8.15 billion per day. If production remains stable for a year, the gross sales value could reach around $165.69 million or Rp2.97 trillion.