Libya’s oil production nears full capacity

Oil production in Libya reached 1.13 million b/d yesterday, its state-owned oil giant National Oil Corporation (NOC) said.

PHOTO: Oil pumpjacks with Libya's flag in the background. Getty Images

The output growth comes days after oil producers resumed operations in the Sharara and El-feel oilfields, two of the largest Libyan oil production sites, NOC said.

“There are suggestions that crude oil production in Libya has climbed above 1m bbls/d [1 million b/d] for the first time in two months, following the resolution of a political standoff,” two analysts from ING Bank remarked. This news has put some downward pressure on Brent’s price, according to analysts.

The NOC, which oversees most of the country's oil resources, officially lifted force majeure on oil production and exports last week.

Libya has been facing political turmoil since August, due to a dispute over the leadership of its central bank, the only globally acknowledged depository of its oil revenues. The conflict forced the NOC to declare a force majeure on key oil-producing sites.

Last month, a United Nations (UN)-brokered deal in Libya united the rival eastern and western administrations, after delegates from both administrations mutually decided to appoint new leaders for the country’s central bank, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said.

The North African country has a production capacity of about 1.18 million b/d, according to OPEC.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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