JOINT OIL — the Tunisia-Libya joint entity managing shared offshore acreage — has officially announced a new bid round for the Zarat Discovery and the broader Joint Oil Block exploration acreage, appointing international advisory firm Moyes & Co as strategic advisor to market the opportunity and manage the data room process.
The bid round is structured around two distinct commercial packages. The first is an exploration opportunity covering further prospecting within the Joint Oil Block — a 3,000-square-kilometre offshore area in water depths of 80 to 120 metres with access to 6,500 kilometres of 2D seismic data and 1,900 kilometres of 3D seismic coverage. The second package is the development of the Zarat Discovery — a cross-border oil and gas resource that straddles the Tunisia-Libya maritime boundary — to be governed through a Development and Production Sharing Agreement, a Unitization Agreement, and associated operating contracts.
The block is strategically situated along the southern margin of the Pelagian Basin within the geological extension of the Sabratha-Gabes Basin. It lies adjacent to several major producing fields across both countries, including El Jurf, El Bouri, and Bahr Essalam in Libya, and Hasdrubal, Ashtart, Didon, and Miskar in Tunisia.
Bid Round Timeline
The official bid round will open on August 1, 2026, and close on November 30, 2026. Bids must be received by December 1, 2026. Winning bidders will be notified by January 31, 2027, with formal awards expected by March 31, 2027. Access to the Virtual Data Room managed by Moyes & Co is open to credible companies with demonstrated offshore exploration and development credentials.
Source: energy-pedia.com