The Discovery of Oil and the Law of 1955
The Petroleum Law No. 25 of 1955 is considered the authoritative
legal text for the Libyan oil industry. It divided concession areas
into small exploration sections, not exceeding 75,000 square
kilometers. In contrast with other Arab countries, both large and
small oil companies began exploring the Libyan Desert due to the
aforementioned law's planned strategy. In effect, the Libyan
government enabled many foreign and domestic investors to drill
rather than allow a monopoly of one or two investors to control the
concession areas.
The first concessions for oil exploration granted to foreign
companies were in1956. In 1959 oil was discovered in the
Zletin oil field, and Libya became an oil exporter in 1961.
Prior to Gaddafi's military coup in September of 1969,
Libya's oil production surpassed 3 million barrels per day.
When Gaddafi was ousted from power, Libya's oil production was
at 1.6 million barrels a day.
