Libya’s state-run National Oil Corporation (NOC), has predicted that Libya’s oil production and exports over the next year and a half are set to nosedive to half of what was initially forecast, according to a press release.

The main reason cited for this precipitous decline is that of an illegal blockade. As a result, NOC Chairman, Mustafa Sanalla, has forecast that production will decline 650,000 barrels of oil per day (bbl/d). As a comparison, NOC produced an average of 1.22 million barrels per day (mmbbl/d) at the beginning of 2020 and predicted that production will reach 2.1 million barrels per day by 2024. 

 Sanalla said: “This blockade is a historic crime against the people of Libya. Some of the damage we have suffered is permanent and can never be repaired. Producing oil reservoirs that are shut down suddenly undergo mechanical, structural, chemical and even microbiological changes.” 

 The nation’s financial losses so far include $6.5 billion in lost production revenue. Furthermore, due to the neglect of the oilfields, it is estimated that repair work will have to be carried out on between 160 to 260 wells, which will cost from $50 to $100 million.