On Sunday, Libya’s Minister of Oil and Gas, Mohamed Aoun announced that the country’s crude oil production has surpassed 1.2 million barrels per day.
In press statements, Aoun said that this came after the government replaced the Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) on 12 July. A mutual understanding between officials, protesters, and tribal leaders sought to peacefully restart production and exports after months of stagnation following the implementation of a ‘force majeure’ in April.
Libya’s largest oil field, El Sharara with a 300,000 bpd capacity, restarted production at around 180,000 bpd.
The NOC’s new management announced the lifting of the force majeure on all oil terminals and fields, following nearly three months of shut-ins. Former NOC Chairman, Mustafa Sanalla was replaced by the ex-Central Bank of Libya (CBL) Governor, Farhat Bengdara on 14 July.
Prior to Sanalla’s ouster, the NOC stated on 30 June that exports had ranged from 365,000 bpd to 409,000 bpd. This was a result of the force majeure declares on loadings out of the Es Sider and Ras Lanuf terminals, as well as production at the El-Feel oil field, following the closures of the Brega and Zueitina terminals.
Crude production reached a two-year low of 650,000 bpd in June, according to the latest Platts survey of OPEC+ output by S&P Global Commodity Insights, against a capacity of 1.2 million b/d.
Libya has Africa’s largest oil reserves and hydrocarbons, which account for 95% of government revenues. This makes control of the industry a key point of contention between its rival parties.
Armed factions have also sought to control production and exports, sometimes attacking oil infrastructure, and devastating the economy.
Libya’s economic recovery, however, is gathering momentum, boosted by a large increase in hydrocarbon output in 2021, according to the African Development Bank. The economy is expected to expand by 3.5% this year and 4.4% in 2023. This will depend on the stabilization of the political situation, security improvements, and persistence of oil production.