Libya Report

Dr. Nuri A. Berruien, Chairman of the Board of National Oil Corporation (NOC), talks about oil in Libya and oil production in Libya. According to Dr. Berruien, "National Oil Corporation has technically exceeded 1.6 million barrels of oil per day but in actuality we are averaging about 1.5 million barrels of oil per day because of some strikes which are affecting our oil production levels. We have established the capability to produce more than 1.6 million and hopefully by the end of the year, we will be close to 1.7 million barrels per day of oil."

With the plan to boost the production of oil in Libya to 2 million barrels of oil per day in 3-4 years, it is expected that the new phase of exploration, additional production will occur as a result of the anticipated discoveries.

On the gas side, Dr. Berruien talks about shortages for feeding the local grid to supply both the electrical company and the industrial plants. The plans are therefore to upgrade the current gas production.

"Therefore to our current gas industry by developing some discoveries on-shore and also working with our partners to develop off-shore gas fields. We are currently determining a road map for our gas industry. Of course we have the potential for unconventional gas but right now we are going through a learning curve. It is going to take a while before we are into that market but for now we are educating ourselves and doing some internal work in order to assess our potential for shale gas," adds Dr Berruien.