Libya is re-opening its last major oil-export terminal and producing at the highest level in more than two years as the war-torn country benefits from an exemption from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) output cuts, Bloomberg reported.
An official at the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said that Libya’s Zawiya export terminal is getting ready to restart its exports after the pipeline carrying crude to it was re-opened. This in turn signifies that all nine major oil ports in the country will be shipping oil, according to Oil Price.
This news came as Italian Eni began drilling an offshore exploratory well northwest of the capital Tripoli and expects to complete it within 65 days. Furthermore, Libya is revving up its oil industry just as most of its OPEC peers are cutting production to counter a glut. It currently pumps 700,000b/d of oil, the NOC official. That’s up from 580,000b/d in November and the most since October 2014.
Libya plans to almost double output in 2017. In December, the North African nation re-opened two of its biggest oil fields and loaded its first crude cargo in two years at its largest export terminal, Es Sider. Libya’s comeback will put pressure on OPEC and the other major suppliers that agreed to start reducing output in a drive to shore up crude prices. Libya is exempt from those cuts as it tries to recover from instability and restore its crude production and exports.