Libya oil production reaches 630,000 b/d: spokesman

Dubai (Platts)--26Aug2014/646 am EDT/1046 GMT


Libya's crude production has continued to rise, reaching 630,000 b/d late Monday, a spokesman for state-owned National Oil Corp said.

The country's oil production has been ramping up since July, with all its export terminals, including the eastern ports of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, back under state control and operational.

However, not all oil fields are back in operation.

"The Waha oil field is not operational yet, and there is no information about restarting it," NOC spokesman Mohamed al-Harari said Monday.

"We have enough crude at the tank farms before we start operating all the fields at the same time."

The 160,000 b/d field is operated by Waha Oil Company, a joint venture of NOC with three US firms -- ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil and Hess Corporation.

Production is normally transported to the 340,000 b/d Es Sider and is expected to restart once storage space at the port is cleared.

Germany's Wintershall, another major foreign oil producer, said last week it was ready to resume production at its onshore fields, but was waiting for approval from NOC.

Wintershall operates the C96 and C97 blocks in the Sirte basin in southeastern Libya, and can produce up to 100,000 b/d. The blocks have been shut in since August last year when anti-government protesters blockaded key export terminals. Wintershall's production can now be pumped through Libya's pipeline network to the ports, pending approval.

Exports resumed from the nearby 220,000 b/d Ras Lanuf terminal earlier in August.

--Sherif Elhelwa, newsdesk@platts.com

--Adal Mirza, adal.mirza@platts.com

--Edited by Jonathan Fox, jonathan.fox@platts.com

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