Libya is stepping up its gas exploration and production with a view to increasing exports to Europe, according to Shokri Ghanem, Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC).

Ghanem said that the move to intensify activity within the gas segment was in line with new energy policies which many European countries were adopting and followed a series of promising gas explorations, most notably in the Gulf of Sirte.

"Even if companies are still at the exploration phase, we can already gauge that a number of significant discoveries have taken place following the last-bid round, both offshore and onshore," he said. "That is why we dedicated our fourth-bid round to the gas segment."

Ghanem explained that Libya had also begun rolling out plans to privatize the refineries and the petrochemical strands of the oil industry as part of its wider move to reshape the sector. "We began by privatizing the Zwara fertilizer plant and the Ras Lanuf refinery," he said. "Currently, we are finalizing the process which will bring about the privatization of the chemical industries."

Hopes are high that the downstream segment of the industry will act as a platform to attract foreign investment to Libya's shores. "The idea is for the downstream sector to be owned in the main by foreign investors rather than the public sector, serving as a serious bid to encourage entrepreneurship and investment in Libya's energy sector," Ghanem said.

He also voiced his optimism that Libya's move to liberalise the oil sector against the country's changing economic landscape would allow local companies to play a more active role on the business scene.

"When the sanctions were in place, many local companies were unable to compete on an international scale because they did not have the means to generate sufficient growth," he said. "We believe that during the coming years, there will be a marked increase in the development of local content within the industry and we are doing our best to encourage this trend."

Ghanem was speaking to Oxford Business Group (OBG), the global publishing, research and consultancy firm. The interview appears in full in the Group's forthcoming investment guide, The Report: Libya 2010, together with detailed business intelligence on the country's macroeconomics, infrastructure, political landscape, banking and sectoral developments.

The report also contains interviews with other high-profile personalities from business and politics.

OBG's report, which is the Group's second on Libya's economy, will also include additional features and analysis to mark the country's 40th anniversary since the Al-Fateh Revolution took place on 1 September 1969.

The Report: Libya 2010 will be available in print form or online.