TotalEnergies to Develop 500MW Solar PV Projects in Libya

French oil and gas major TotalEnergies has signed new agreements with Libya for the sustainable growth of the country’s natural resources, which include developing 500 MW solar PV projects in addition to investing $2 billion in crude oil production and gas extraction.

The agreements were signed at the recently held Libya Energy & Economy Summit, the first economic conference to take place in Libya in 10 years, initiated by the Government of National Unity.

These agreements aim to develop solar projects supplying electricity to the Libyan people and to invest in projects reducing gas flaring in oil fields in order to supply gas to power plants as well as to contribute to the national goal of restoring the country’s oil production to 2 million barrels per day and supplying world markets.

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TotalEnergies signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the General Electricity Company of Libya for the development of solar photovoltaic projects with a total capacity of 500 MW designed to supply electricity to the national grid.

Additionally, the Council of Ministers of the Government of National Unity has approved the joint acquisition by TotalEnergies and ConocoPhillips of the 8.16% interest held by Hess in the Waha concessions, which will increase TotalEnergies’ interest in these concessions from 16.33% to 20.41%. During the conference, TotalEnergies thus confirmed its willingness:

• to develop the production capacity of the Waha concessions, notably the 100 kbpd North Gialo project, representing a $2 billion investment,
• to invest in gas gathering projects to reduce flaring and supply power plants in the region and using solar energy to power Waha’s industrial facilities.

“These agreements reflect TotalEnergies’ willingness to strengthen its investments in Libya’s energy sector. We aim to assist the country in building a more sustainable future through a better use of the country’s natural resources, including solar energy, which will directly improve the accessibility of cleaner, more reliable and more affordable electricity to the Libyan people,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman & CEO of TotalEnergies.

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“We are thus leveraging our leadership position in the region, where the lowest-cost hydrocarbons are produced, to pursue our development in renewable electricity. These agreements further illustrate the sustainable development model of TotalEnergies, a global multi-energy company that supports producing countries in their energy transition.”

TotalEnergies signed a similar deal with Iraqi authorities in September this year, committing to, on the one hand, invest in installations to recover gas that is being flared (released into the atmosphere) on three oil fields and as such supply gas to 1.5 GW of power generation capacity in a first phase growing to 3 GW in a second phase, and, on the other hand, develop 1 GWac of solar electricity generation capacity to supply the Basra regional grid.

The French energy major has shown a greater willingness to venture into ‘troubled’ regions for profits in its oil and gas business. However, it has shown a willingness to walk the talk on sustainability, with a 100 GW target for itself in terms of renewable energy installations by 2030. Solar energy has been taken up as a key area of expertise, with large tie-ups in India with the Adani Group for instance.