Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) has approved a $10bn plan to develop 24 oil fields with loans from local banks.

NOC says it will conduct the contracting work through local firms and international firms which have already registered in the country.

The Gialo oil block in the Sirte basin is one of the largest fields in the plan. The corporation plans to invest $1.3bn as part of a pledge to increase production by 100,000 barrels a day (b/d).  

The state-run firm will also invest $1.1bn developing the Nafoora oil field, also in the Sirte basin, where it plans to boost output by 130,000 b/d.

Libya’s long-term goal has been to boost oil production from its current level of 1.6 million b/d to 3 million b/d by 2015.