Libya’s oil industry to restart pumping mid-Sept

Libya’s new oil minister says he expects production of crude to restart in about ten days.

Ali Tarhouni said the pumps will begin again in the Misla and Sarir oilfields around the middle of the month.

The industry is central to Libya’s recovery. Before the war to unseat Muammar Gaddafi it was churning out 1.6 million barrels a day. It’s expected to take another 15 months before it recovers to that level.

A director of Libyas National Oil Corporation Ahmed Taghdi said: ‘The NOC has resumed working with God’s will. We have started the production process. The process is back to normal.’

Five international oil companies have returned to Libya according to the new administration, including Italy’s energy giant ENI.

There are minefields around the Brega export terminal, but officials claim the industry’s infrastructure has only suffered limited damage in general.

However a mechanism to pay salaries has to be restored before repairs can get up and running.

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