Libyan oil fields will be provided with further services and security to enhance their production, while also protecting the environment, according to a Sunday meeting between the heads of the Presidency Council of the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the National Oil Corporation (NOC).
Faiez Serraj of GNA and Mustafa Sanallah of NOC underscored in the meeting the importance of securing ports and oil fields to maintain production and exportation, as well as managing oil derivatives properly and reducing any adverse environmental impact of the process.
That comes as oil revenues in Libya have reached their highest levels in 2018, estimated at $13.6 billion, NOC announced in September, expecting the figure to rise to $23.4 billion by the end of the year “if the corporation was able to continue doing its work without any impediments.”
Gunmen attacked NOC headquarters in Tripoli in September, killing two of NOC’s staff and injuring 10 others. In July, the output of the biggest oil field Sahara declined after an armed group kidnapped four workers.
However, several international companies are expected to return to Libya, due to the country’s “low-cost-to-market” resources and comparatively small amounts of contaminants in its crude, Sanallah announced earlier this month.
Libya’s crude oil production exceeded one million barrels per day in September, compared to 950,000 barrels per day in August, according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Before Muammar Gaddafi’s ouster, Libya produced 1.6 barrel per day, but the lack of the security has led to reduction in oil production.
Security issues have also negatively affected several Libyan ports as the work at the Port of Al Khums was suspended earlier this month.
In a letter sent Monday to the heads of the Libyan parliament, Presidency Council, Interior Ministry and the Custom Authority, Director of the Food and Drug Control Center Mohamed Omar Hussein said the center would no longer deal with any food or medical shipments arriving at the port unless full security control has been imposed.
Hussein lamented that his previous warning letters have gone unheeded.
