Libyan oil output down by more than two-thirds

Libyan National Oil Corporation chairman and CEO Shukri Ghanem speaks during a press conference in Tripoli. Libyan oil output is down by more than two-thirds from 1.6 million barrels per day to just 500,000 amid the uprising against Moamer Kadhafi's regime, Ghanem said Wednesday. (AFP/Mahmud Turkia)

By Antoine Lambroschini, AFP

TRIPOLI (AFP) - Libyan oil output is down by more than two-thirds from 1.6 million barrels per day to just 500,000 amid the uprising against Moamer Kadhafi's regime, National Oil Corporation boss Shukri Ghanem said Wednesday.

"Of course, the production is down drastically, or it is only half a million a day down from 1.6 million a day," Ghanem, who is both chairman and CEO of the state-owned firm, told a news conference in the capital Tripoli.

"The foreign workers went back to their countries, the Libyans to their families, and of course oil production went down and oil exports went down," said Ghanem.

"We are concerned that the porduction goes down in a orderly manner rather than damage the installations... and so far we have succeeded."

Heavy fighting between rebels and regime loyalists on the battleground central part of Libya's Mediterranean coast has left a string of key oil pipelines and installations in flames.

Huge blazes were reported on Wednesday in the oil towns of Ras Lanuf and As-Sidra after air raids and heavy shelling.

But Ghanem insisted the As-Sidra explosion caused no damage to oil installations.

"Fortunately, the explosion today was in a small storage supply facility in Sidra... it has not affected the production," Ghanem said, adding: "It was diesel, it's not crude oil."

Ghanem also played down the impact of the rebel's capture of virtually all of the east, including key oil fields, during their more than three-week-old uprising.

"The whole industry is still working as one, the most important thing is the integrity of the industry and safety of the people," he said.

"Secession is not on our mind... We're working as one industry, for the Libyan people.

"We're every day in touch with our colleagues... The oil industry is still one and will hopefully stay one."

Ghanem declined to be drawn on the potential impact of mounting international sanctions on Libya's key oil revenues.

"We will cross that bridge when we'll reach it," he said.

In 2009, Libya produced 1.789 million bpd, fourth in Africa behind Nigeria (2.211 million bpd), Algeria (2.125 million bpd) and Angola (1.948 million bpd), according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Before the uprising, Libya exported most of its oil to European countries, including Italy, Germany, Spain and France, but the European Union has since imposed sanctions of its own against Kadhafi's regime in addition to those of the United Nations.