Libya to raise oil output following brown field redevelopment

Libya has announced plans to increase its oil output to 1.6 million barrels per day by next year, The National reported on 4th November.

Libya’s oil minister, Khalifa Abdulsadek, spoke at the Adipec energy conference in the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi, stating that Libya’s current production levels sat at around 1.4 million barrels per day. Libya’s plans to increase oil production match recent trends showing Libyan oil companies hitting their highest production levels in 20 years, and serve as a great chance for Libya to boost their economy.

Abdulsadek spoke about plans to utilise Libya’s “brown fields” to significantly increase production. These older existing oil and gas fields are believed by the government to hold large oil reserves that can be used by the government to bolster production and output.

“We have a mission to increase output to 2 million barrels per day over the next five years,” he continued. “Libya has a huge portfolio of brown fields. Those fields have been discovered back in late 50s, early 60s and those fields have huge remaining reserves. We are trying to redevelop those fields by employing new technologies.”

Libya’s oil and gas sector has been experiencing a sharp increase in interest from companies, some of whom have had their suspensions lifted recently. The government’s plans for the brownfields, alongside recent discoveries in the Sirte Basin, signal optimistic implications for Libya’s oil industry.

Despite this, Libya’s renewed interest in brownfield oil reserves occurs in the context of rampant political instability, as well as suspected corruption that has cost the oil industry millions.

Developing new technologies and infrastructures that can be employed to help redevelop these fields to extract oil will ultimately be challenging due to these factors. Therefore, while Abdulsadek’s statements share exciting prospects for the future of Libya’s oil industry, there must also be consideration of the times Libya are redeveloping their oil sector in.

The National, Maghrebi.org