Shows of natural gas were observed in the late 1930s, but World War II interrupted exploration efforts.
Hydrocarbon exploration in the Sirte Basin began in 1957, and by the end of 1961, 11 giant fields had been discovered.
Continued exploration led to many further discoveries until the Libyan revolution in 1969, followed by progressive nationalization, which commenced in 1971.
The Sirte Basin ranks 13th among the world's petroleum provinces, having proven:
- oil reserves estimated at 43.1 billion barrels (6.85×109 m3) of oil equivalent
- (36.7 bbl, 37.7×1012 cu ft (1,070 km3) of gas
- 0.1 bbl (0.016 m3) of NGL
- an amount that constitutes 1.7% of the world’s known oil reserves
The area of the Sirte Basin occupies about 230 000 km², with a wildcat drilling density of one new field wildcat per 145 km².
Overall drilling density of the basin is 3.3 wells per 100 km², with an average field depth of 2 100 m.
