ISTANBUL (Bloomberg) -- Libya’s oil production is set to reach a three-year high by December, as fields restart and ports reopen after five years of armed conflict crippled sales.
Output is now 540,000 bopd and will reach 900,000 bopd by the end of the year, Libya’s National Oil Corp. Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said Wednesday in Istanbul. That would be the highest production since June 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Libya, with Africa’s largest crude reserves, has increased oil output after the NOC reached an agreement last month with Khalifa Haftar, commander of the armed forces controlling key oil ports. Shipments were able to resume from ports including Ras Lanuf, Es Sider and Zueitana, leading Germany’s Wintershall AG to resume output in As Sarah oil field on Sept. 16.
The country produced about 1.6 MMbopd before the 2011 uprising that ousted longtime leader Moammar Al Qaddafi, but output has withered as rival militias vied to control energy facilities.
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