Oil tanker The exploration of oil in Libya began in 1955, four years after the country was declared independent. 40 companies were given an area of 600,000 km2 to explore over ambitious geological speculations that the country may have some oil reserves underneath its surface. By 1959 it was a fact: the country is sitting on the largest oil reserve in the continent, and the 9th largest in the world (Currently estimated at around 48 billion barrels) Libya joined the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, in 1962, a year after it started exporting oil, and has been a member since then. The country quickly became an important contributor to the global supply of light, sweet (low sulfur) crude oil, which was mostly exported to the European markets. Oil exports from Libya quickly ramped up to 3.4 million barrels per day, creating an unprecedented source of revenues for the […]