On Thursday, Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced that crude oil production during the past twenty-four hours reached 1.230 million barrels.
In a statement, the NOC added that condensate production amounted to 57,000 barrels. It noted that the total domestic consumption of natural gas amounted to 1.7 billion cubic feet during the past 24 hours.
Earlier this month, the Minister of Oil and Gas in Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU), Mohamed Aoun expressed his hopes that “oil production will return to 2010 levels.”
In press statements on the sidelines of the OPEC meeting in Kuwait, Aoun noted that Libya produces about 1.2 million barrels of oil per day.
He expressed his hope to raise production levels, and to return production to 2010 levels when Libya was producing 1.6 million barrels per day, “within two or three years.”
Aoun explained that he hopes that “Libya’s decision to lift the state of force majeure in the oil and gas exploration sector will encourage the return of foreign oil companies to the country.”
The NOC urged its foreign oil and gas partners to resume exploration and production, assuring them security had begun to improve after clashes earlier this year.
In a statement, it called on international oil and gas companies to lift the force majeure declared by them.
A force majeure is a legal measure allowing companies to free themselves from contractual obligations, in light of circumstances beyond their control.
The NOC said its appeal followed a “realistic and logical analysis of the security situation, which has begun to improve dramatically.” it expressed “readiness to provide all necessary support… along with providing a safe working environment in cooperation with the civil and military authorities.”
Oil-rich Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammer Gaddafi in 2011. In the chaos that followed, the county split, with the rival administrations backed by rogue militias and foreign governments. The country’s current political crisis stems from the failure to hold elections on 24 December 2021.
The country’s Prime Minister, Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba who is leading a transitional government in Tripoli has refused to step down. The country’s eastern-based Parliament appointed a rival Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagga, who is seeking Libya’s UN seat.
