Libyan oil output to return to normal by next year

Head of Libya's National Oil Corporation Nuri Berouin has said that the country expects to resume crude oil output to pre-war levers of approximately 1.6 million b/d by 2012. Berouin said that output has arisen to 600,000 b/d, and that he expects further increases of about 200,000 a b/d by the end of 2011.

Speaking about the matter during an economic conference in Qatar, he also said that to repair the oil sector's infrastructure will cost "hundreds of millions of dollars". He explained that Libya's production had reached “600,000 bpd of which 140,000 bpd go to (local) refineries," adding that the remaining 460,000 b/d were for export.

The Libyan revolution saw the country's oil industry virtually shut down. Last week, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said that production in Libya was resuming faster than had been expected after a key pipeline was repaired.

It is estimated that more than 10 per cent of the OPEC member's oil infrastructure was severely damaged during the eight-month rebellion.

Sources: BBC News, WSJ, Business Week

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