Libya NOC chief says oil output is 1.2 million bpd

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) chief Farhat Bengdara said on Tuesday that oil output had risen to 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from 600,000 bpd three months ago and that NOC does not expect any disruption in oil production. Oil production has been repeatedly hit in Libya by groups blockading facilities, sometimes to demand material benefits but also as a tactic to achieve wider political ends.

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) chief Farhat Bengdara said on Tuesday that oil output had risen to 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from 600,000 bpd three months ago and that NOC does not expect any disruption in oil production.

Oil production has been repeatedly hit in Libya by groups blockading facilities, sometimes to demand material benefits but also as a tactic to achieve wider political ends. During the last major bout of conflict, groups affiliated with eastern commander Khalifa Haftar cut nearly all of Libya's oil output for eight months.

The last major blockade, also by groups aligned with Haftar, cut Libyan oil output by about half and ended when the government in Tripoli appointed Bengdara as the head of NOC in July. Speaking at an industry conference in Abu Dhabi, Bengdara said that "there is an understanding that oil should not be used as leverage for political gains".

Bengdara also called for a balanced approach to the energy transition. "You can't just fancy renewables and cut investment for hydrocarbons. This will make shortages... energy prices volatile and it will affect the world economy," he said.