Libya’s Central Bank Calls for Boosting Oil Output by 40%
Business
Cairo - Asharq Al-Awsat
Libya needs to boost oil output by almost 40 percent of its current level to cover its spending needs and begin revamping the economy, Libya’s central bank governor said. With oil as Libya’s nearly sole source of income, “it is, of course, imperative that production rates in 2022 have to go higher,” governor Sadiq Al-Kabir told Bloomberg. The nation sits atop Africa’s largest proven crude reserves and is currently pumping 1.3 million barrels per day. Kabir said daily output needs to climb to a daily 1.8-million-barrel next year. According to Bloomberg, such an increase would lift Libyan production to its highest since the reign of longtime leader Moammar al-Gaddafi, who was overthrown during the 2011 uprising. However, the country’s ability to do so is in question. The government is struggling with an aging infrastructure and cash problems further compounded by political tensions. Upping production to 1.8 million barrels a day from its current level would ensure revenue of $35 billion next year if oil averages $60 per barrel, keeping Libya “on the safe side” and able to cover spending and reconstruction plans, Kabir said. The central bank is working closely with the Oil Ministry and National Oil Corporation (NOC), and a budget surplus “is possible if the oil price remains stable, and maintenance and modernization of NOC facilities continues,” he noted. The bank expects oil revenue of $25 billion this year - a climb from $3.6 billion in 2020 - as crude production stabilizes amid a ceasefire. Back in 2020, blockades caused by Libya’s conflict between rival eastern and western administrations forced facilities to close and output to plummet. “The country’s gold reserves currently stand at approximately 116.6 tons,” Kabir also announced.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3147396/libya%E2%80%99s-central-bank-calls-boosting-oil-output-40
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