Oil production in Libya falls by 1M bpd

Oil production in Libya over the past few days has fallen by almost 1 million barrels per day from 1.3 million barrels per day, according to the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC), Report informs referring to ngv.

The fall may continue.

On April 23, the NOC announced introduction of a force majeure regime in the Marsa al Hariga port. The company has warned that oil shipment through the port will be suspended due to the refusal of the Libyan central bank to allocate funds to the oil industry, which caused oil companies to form debts. NOC noted that the Central Bank of Libya pledged to pay oil workers about $222 million, but the funds were spent ‘on fictitious contracts and unnecessary goods.’

On April 21, NOC’s subsidiary, Sirte Oil Company, said it was unable to maintain oil production due to the dire financial situation and would be forced to completely halt production for 72 hours.

In November 2020, oil production in Libya returned to the pre-war level - more than 1.2 million barrels per day. OPEC and allies of the cartel fear that the increase in production in Libya could lead to a surplus of crude in the oil market.