Libya oil production reach\'s 1.5 mln bdp

Abdul-Rahman Ben Yazza Tripoli - Agencies Abdul-Rahman Ben Yazza, the Libyan oil minister of the transitional government, said Monday that Libyan oil production had reached 1.5 million barrels a day. He added that he hopes to hit pre-revolution levels by mid year. Ben Yazza stated during the first post-war oil and gas conference that Libyan oil production is currently equivalent to 85 percent of pre-war levels. When the Libyan revolution broke out in February 2011, Libya was an OPEC member which produced 1.6 million barrels a day, including 1.3 million barrels for export. However due to the start of the uprising, production was completely halted and only resumed in mid September. The National Oil Corporation (NOC)said that production has reached current levels in record time despite many difficulties, and the NOC hoped to reach pre-revolution levels by the end of 2012. Oil production in Libya reached 600,000 barrels a day in November last year, and has risen to 1.3 million barrels a day by January of this year. However, the secretary general of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), stated last December that Libya\'s oil production would reach its pre-war level by mid 2012, which is six months earlier than Libya\'s NOC\'s predictions.