Libya Daily Oil Output Hits 11-Year High, Highlighting Rebound

Libya Daily Oil Output Hits 11-Year High, Highlighting Rebound

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(Bloomberg) — Libya’s oil production has risen to the highest daily level in more than a decade, just months after a political crisis slashed the country’s output. 

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Crude and condensate production hit 1.422 million barrels on Thursday, the National Oil Corp. said in a post on X. That exceeds the state oil-firm’s target by 22,000 barrels. It’s also the highest daily volume since 2013, according to the NOC.

The surge marks a stunning turnaround for Libya’s oil industry this year. In August, a feud between the country’s rival eastern and western governments halved output, stoking fears of a renewed war. The two sides resolved their dispute a month later. The North African country is now planning its first tender for energy exploration since the 2011 civil war that ousted leader Moammar Al Qaddafi. 

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Italy’s Eni Spa and BP Plc resumed drilling last month, ending a pause in place since 2014. Libya, home to the Africa’s largest oil reserves, in November boosted crude output to 1.14 million barrels a day, providing a sense of the nation’s oil rebound.

The ramp-up would help bring foreign currency into the country, after seesawing production in recent years — largely the result of unrest — limited revenues. Power struggles have compounded years of neglect in developing or revamping the oil infrastructure. 

Still, the increase comes at a tricky time for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, of which Libya is a member. The producer group and its allies on Thursday delayed a revival of its production for three months, amid faltering demand in China and booming supplies from the Americas. 

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While Libya is exempt from the OPEC+ system of production caps, its production feeds into the group’s performance, adding to global supplies.  

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