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There are certain events that are highly symptomatic of a countrys situation. There are also national transitions that make any satirical treatment derisory since the facts themselves contain all the elements of a wry comedy scenario. Post-Gaddafi Libya is not short of exhibitions that navigate between tragedy and burlesque.

On 15 March, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that about 2.5 tn of natural uranium had been missing from a Libyan site in the Sebha region since the previous day.

According to Director General Rafael Grossi, UN inspectors searched in vain for 10 containers of the concentrate known as yellow cake at a location indicated by the Libyan authorities.

In Vienna, a Western diplomat describes the risks associated with this disappearance of uranium as limited but not negligible. Even though this is a matter of nuclear safety, this episode is reminiscent of someone who no longer remembers where they left their glasses.

Libyan General Khaled al-Mahjoub, commander of the communications department of Khalifa Haftars Libyan National Army (LNA) forces, quickly explained that the personnel in charge of monitoring the site were required to stand at a certain distance from the uranium, due to the lack of radiation protection.

On Facebook, he eventually posted an image showing 19 blue barrels and announced that the containers had been found about five kilometres from the depot towards the Chadian border.

The comical situation unfolds: a Chadian faction allegedly stole the merchandise believing it to be arms or ammunition and then abandoned it like rubbish. Although everything is officially under control, fears abound of chaos in Libya. The IAEA says it is actively seeking to verify the information.

The adventures of these containers demonstrate the difficulty in ensuring the protection of such sensitive sites in Libya, which have been in the grip of confusion since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, the guide who was once tempted to develop atomic weapons.

Not only are two rival Libyan camps fighting for political legitimacy from the east and west, but several factions from neighbouring countries Chad and Sudan have made the southern part of the country the ideal place to set up their rear bases.

The UN has been waiting since 2021 for presidential and legislative elections to be held.

The IAEA has been concerned about the deterioration of the storage conditions of the yellow cake barrels since 2011.

Considering the size and weight of the barrels, the agency had ruled out that these materials could be stolen.

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Libyas hide-and-go-seek of its uranium - The Africa Report

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Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) is expected to soon sign a $1B agreement with Libya's state-owned National Oil Corp. to rebuild the al-Dhara oil field in central Libya, and Honeywell (NASDAQ:HON) is set to unveil a $400M contract with NOC to design and build a refinery in southern Libya, NOC chairman Farhat Bengdara told The Wall Street Journal Thursday.

The al-Dhara field in central Libya was destroyed by Islamic State militants in 2015 and is now run by ConocoPhillips (COP) and TotalEnergies (TTE).

Libya is now seen as a "workable environment" for U.S. firms to operate with reasonable safety and more predictably invest than was possible a few years ago, the report said.

Western firms are ramping up their presence in the region as Europe increasingly turns to other sources for its energy needs after Russia cut off gas supplies last year.

Chevron (CVX) also is looking to seal an energy exploration deal in Algeria, WSJ reported last month.

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Halliburton, Honeywell poised to sign new energy deals in Libya ... - Seeking Alpha

Last Sunday, the committee assigned by the Chairman of Railroads Libya, headed by Abrek Abdullah Gwaider, visited the locations of some of the machines and equipment of the Express Train Company in the Al-Jufra region.

It also visited sites the rail path in the Jufra region, the Sebha road, and the sites of the Chinese company CCECC, contracted with Railroads Libya, in the Black Mountains region. The committee was assessing damage and loss of equipment that has occurred since the 2011 revolution.

It also held several meetings with security authorities to discuss lost vehicles owned by the Express Train Company and the Chinese company.

Railroads Libya reported that the authorities showed full readiness to recover these mechanisms if they were found.

Railroads Libya hosts Tunisian engineering firm (libyaherald.com)

Railroads Libya holds meeting with Hill International in Greece (libyaherald.com)

BOT is the way forward for completion of Libyas railway project (libyaherald.com)

A railway system is fundamental to diversifying Libyas economy post-oil (libyaherald.com)

The Importance of Railways to Sustainable Growth, Transit Trade and Economic Development workshop Tripoli, 22 November (libyaherald.com)

Libyan Railways Implementation Authority invites International Federation of Railways to participate in November workshop (libyaherald.com)

Delegation from Libyas Rail Authority visits InnoTrans 2022 in preparation for workshop (libyaherald.com)

Libyan Rail Authority meets Chinese about restarting projects (libyaherald.com)

Libyas Railroad Authority tests old locomotive and 10 KM track from Khoms Port to Khoms station (libyaherald.com)

Egypt and Libya contemplating extending Egypts rail line to Benghazi (libyaherald.com)

Egypt to build rail line to Benghazi (libyaherald.com)

Libya to develop its coastal free zones with African states through its railway project and create partnerships with EU (libyaherald.com)

Russia considers resumption of work on Libyan railway (libyaherald.com)

Massive LD 50-billion development of Tobruk unveiled; railway to Sudan to be built (libyaherald.com)

Libya awaiting Chinese team for railway talks (libyaherald.com)

Railway will be resumed (libyaherald.com)

Russians in Tripoli for talks on Sirte-Benghazi railway project resumption (libyaherald.com)

Tripoli and Benghazi LRT systems progress (libyaherald.com)

Tripoli and Benghazi metro systems moving forward (libyaherald.com)

Details of foreign consortium to invest and implement Tripoli metro, bus and infrastructure project and its financing revealed (libyaherald.com)

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Railroads Libya visits sites to follow up on damage and loss of ... - Libya Herald

Libyas National Oil Corp. is wooing international oil companies to its investment-thirsty energy sector with a new strategic plan now that output has stabilized, but lingering political and security woes may stymie its mandate to resurrect the countrys pre-2011 oil boom.

In February, NOC announced it had hired US consultancy Kearney to help develop a new strategic plan and created a Strategic Programs Office that will be responsible for implementing this plan to help the company keep pace with developments in this sector worldwide.

The office and new strategy will help NOC carry out a ramp-up of Libyas production capacity to 2 million b/d in three to five years from about 1.2 million b/d now, which is one of my core priorities for the NOC, its chairman Farhat Bengdara said in a Feb. 15 statement.

The idea is that to draw foreign investment you need to be more transparent, and you need to enable IOCs to take a look at your books, said Iliasse Sdiqui, associate director at Whispering Bell, a risk management company covering North Africa. This strategic program office is (set up) both to enable IOCs to be comfortable with channeling money into the east and also to satisfy the local communities in the region, he said. The pressure for more fiscal transparency comes from the top, from the US, and from the international community.

Two-year low

Libya has been engulfed in several bouts of fighting between various militias since the 2011 downfall of Muammar Gaddafi. The political mayhem that ensued hit its vital oil sector, which has never been able to recover and return to producing 1.6 million b/d. Production was 1.2 million b/d of crude oil and 55,000 b/d of condensate on March 19, according to the NOC.

Libya needs foreign investment to develop its vast energy resources, including its proven oil reserves, the largest in Africa. Ever since Bengdara was appointed in July to replace long-standing chairman Mustafa Sanallah, Libyas oil and gas sector has been stable, following the lifting of force majeure on exports and production, which had hit a two-year low of 650,000 b/d of crude in June amid a blockade, according to the Platts survey by S&P Global.

To maximize and optimize the opportunities and resource base, Libya needs a far greater pool of investors to call on and it needs to reactivate some of the contracts that have fallen by the wayside, Catherine Hunter, an analyst with S&P Global, said. Pre-2011, there were a lot of exploration contracts, there were a lot of different companies active in Libya and then a lot of those went into force majeure and investors pulled back.

Risk appetite

Libya, which is exempt from OPEC+ quotas, pumped 1.17 million b/d in February, with production holding steady from January, according to the latest Platts survey.

Bendgara, an ex-central bank chief during the Gaddafi era, may be the man that can help revive the pre-2011 oil boom after a political agreement was reached last year between Prime Minister Abdula Hamid Dbeibah in the UN-backed Government of National Unity and Khalifa Haftar, the head of the self-styled Libyan National Army in the east where the Government of National Stability is based.

Bengdara has been quick to embark on foreign visits, including the US, where he met with senior energy officials and executives and invited US companies to invest in Libyas energy sector.

For certain super majors, there definitely seems to be appetite (to invest in Libya), but IOCs have different tolerances for risk and so I do not necessarily think that Libya as it stands would be a mainstream investment, S&P Globals Hunter said.

Eni deal

So far, European companies are the main IOCs operating in Libyas energy sector, with Italys Eni being the biggest foreign investor.

Eni produced 198 Bcf gas in Libya in 2021 and its production is brought to Italy through the 520-km (323-mile) Green Stream pipeline, which has the capacity to carry 8 Bcm/year.

There remains uncertainty and IOCs cannot plan in advance for more than two to three quarters max, Sdiqui said. The ones that are looking at the NOC with a keen interest and a keen eye, they need to also adapt to this reality. They cannot just look at the positive signals the fact that NOC invited them back, the fact that the NOC lifted force majeure etc and think we will operate as we did pre-2011.

Eni, which has been operating in Libya since 1959, is the first IOC to announce a new project in Libya in over 20 years. In February, Eni and the NOC signed an agreement to develop offshore Structures A&E, which will produce 750 MMcf/d of natural gas by tapping estimated reserves of 6 Tcf.

However, not everyone is convinced the worst is over for Libyas oil sector.

The fact there is no force majeure and the fact that oil production is at a high level, is good, said Jalel Harchaoui, a political analyst at Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank. But apart from that, I do not think international oil companies are comfortable, do not think that we will never have a blockade under Farhat Bengdara. It is not in his hands.Source: Platts

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Libyas NOC courts IOCs with strategic plan to revive pre-2011 oil ... - Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide

LIBYA

The strategys aims include the development of a scientific workforce for various IT-related fields, support for research and development, the promotion of innovation in partnership with research institutions, and enhancing interaction involving public, private and academic sectors in the fields of digital transformation.

The strategy will establish monitoring and evaluation systems with performance indicators and tracking tools to measure the progress of the digital transformation process, along with conducting assessments of digital readiness and the optimisation of data to make better policy decisions.

The three-year E-NABLE project (2022-25), funded by the European Union with the technical support of Expertise France, will support Libya in its digital transformation strategy that will involve all state institutions, including universities.

Challenges

The strategy pointed out that some of the obstacles that it will face include limited funding, weak investment in digital technologies and the innovation system, digital illiteracy, and a scarcity of IT experts.

Statistics showed that, out of a Libyan population of about 7.1 million, 6.7 million people or 94.8% of the total population have access to the internet.

In addition, Libya is ranked 164 out of 176 countries when it comes to average internet speed. The country is ranked 30 out of 220 countries with reference to the cost of the internet, but is ranked fourth for cheap internet in Africa.

Action plan for higher education sector

Under the strategy, a digital transformation academy will be established and additional business incubators, innovation centres and start-up companies, or junior enterprises, will be set up in higher education institutions.

The ministry of higher education and scientific research will perform several tasks to roll out the digital transformation strategy, including raising awareness about digital transformation, building confidence in digital systems and e-government services and setting up educational programmes focusing on artificial intelligence, blockchain and big data at higher education institutions to promote digital transformation.

In addition, the ministry will support the Engineering and Information Technology Research Center and the e-Government Excellence Center, promote joint research involving the government, higher education and research institutions and the private sector; and provide funding for research and development as well as for the building of digital laboratories.

The implementation of e-learning projects and the digitalisation of higher education, including management systems, will also be part of the ministrys tasks.

Within the strategy assessment and evaluation system, the ministry will monitor higher education datasets in the Global Open Data Index, which is a global assessment of open government data publication.

The ministry will also monitor the e-Government Development Index, which assesses e-government development at a national level.

Accelerate change

Professor Ahmed Attia, the head of faculty affairs at the faculty of medical technology at the University of Tripoli in Libya, welcomed the launch of the digital transformation strategy.

This strategy is a step towards offering the needed digital infrastructure for establishing an improved e-learning environment at higher education institutions and initiating the move towards transforming traditional Libyan universities to a university 4.0 model, along with enhancing the university role in developing the necessary IT human resources for sustainable development, Attia told University World News.

With the holding of the first Libyan conference on digital agriculture at the University of Tripoli at the beginning of March, the strategy will accelerate universities move towards setting up an innovation and research system.

Attias views were supported by the 2022 study, Challenges of Applying e-Learning in the Libyan Higher Education System which indicated that Libyan universities lack the ICT technological infrastructure and the 2020 study, An assessment of the expertise required of workers, in the context of their capacity to cope with Libyas Fourth Industrial Revolution which indicated that Libya suffers from a skills deficit essential for the 4IR.

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Digital transformation plan launched, but in need of funding - University World News