Libya’s oil industry continued its revival recently following a truce between the main factions in the OPEC member’s devastating civil war according Bloomberg.
The Sarir field opened of recent, according to its operator, Arabian Gulf Oil Co. Production is just 30,000 barrels a day for now. But with a capacity of about 200,000, it’s the biggest deposit in the country to restart since an almost-total shutdown of Libyan energy facilities in January.
Much of the country’s “oil crescent” — a cluster of ports and fields in the east — is back onstream, though not yet at full capacity. Libya’s western fields, including Sharara, the biggest in the North African nation, are still closed. The state-run National Oil Corp. has said foreign mercenaries and other fighters must leave facilities before than can reopen.
Overall oil output has reached about 300,000 barrels a day, up from 80,000 at the start of the September.
Libya has seen false dawns before, and previous deals to stop the conflict have quickly collapsed. But if this one holds, JPMorgan Chase & Co. forecasts that production can hit 1 million barrels a day by March 2021.
The potential for extra Libyan supplies is putting pressure on oil prices just as traders fret about the outlook for energy demand with the coronavirus pandemic still raging. Brent crude is down of less than $40 owing to news on U S President contracting COVID -19.
