LIBYA: Libya rebel official says full volumes of oil export could return in about a year and all pre-war contracts will be respected

Record ID: 344042

  • Title: LIBYA: Libya rebel official says full volumes of oil export could return in about a year and all pre-war contracts will be respected
  • Date: 26th August 2011
  • Summary: TOBRUK, LIBYA (FILE - MARCH 15, 2011) (REUTERS) MORE OF TOBRUK OIL REFINERY IN THE EAST OF LIBYA
  • Embargoed: 10th September 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Business,Conflict,Economy,Energy
  • Reuters ID: LVA34KZC8SGU4GOJ59UQQF9X4I69
  • Story Text: The Libyan rebel government hopes to restart oil exports within two months and reach full volumes in about a year, Ali Tarhouni, the official in charge of financial and oil matters said on Thursday (August 25) from Libya's oil ministry in Tripoli.
    It was the first time an official from the rebel National Transitional Authority (NTC) was seen in the capital taking up the reins of government, after rebel fighters swept into the city four days ago aiming to topple Muammar Gaddafi.
    Damage on most of Libya's oilfields from the civil war has been minimal, he said.
    "The state of the oil fields are a lot better than we expected," he said, adding: "Overall if I want to put a number on it, I think the damage is on the average about 10 percent or so. So most of the fields are more than 90 percent fine."
    Tarhouni said NTC hopes to return to full volume export within a year.
    "The NOC (National Oil Corporation) initial estimate is that we can have about 500,000 to 600,000 barrels within two to three months. And then we ramp this up to the normal, which is about 1.6 (million). My expectation is that this can be done within a year or so," Tarhouni said.
    He added that Libya would continue to honour existing contracts with oil companies and added there would be no block for companies from countries that had not supported the rebels.
    "We have contracts with most of the major companies. Wintershall, Shell, Repsol, Eni. We had all types of contracts before. We haven't signed any new contracts. So what we will be operating on is the contract that are already signed. Be it in oil or gas," Tarhouni said, adding that it was too early to consider awarding new contracts.
    "We will just put back things as they used to be. The NOC is the one that is practically running the oil industry. We will restructure that to make sure that it's nimble."
    Tarhouni, formerly a U.S.-based academic and opposition figure in exile, returned to take charge of economic, financial and oil matters on the rebels' executive committee.
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