After merge, Libya’s NOC seeks to reopen oil ports

Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) is seeking to reopen oil ports and restore crude output as the fractured OPEC nation struggles to reunite after five years of civil strife, according to its chairman.

Four ports accounting for about 860,000 barrels a day in crude exporting capacity have been shut due to political turmoil and fighting. Libya now produces a fraction of the 1.6 million barrels a day that it pumped before the toppling of ruler Moammar Al Qaddafi in 2011.

A July 2 deal uniting the National Oil Corp.’s rival administrations enables the company to focus on reviving Libya’s crippled oil industry, Chairman Sanalla Ibrahim said.

“After the unification of NOC, the opening of the ports and the increase of production are absolutely our top priorities,” Sanalla said in remarks published Monday on the NOC’s website.

“We have heard hopeful noises in recent days about the opening of the ports.” He added.

The Libyan NOC is considered now the second smallest oil producer in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), as a huge number of Libya’s oil fields and export terminals remain shut amid fragile security in the oil crescent region.