Germany's Wintershall is currently producing just over 70,000 b/d of oil in Libya, or around 70% of its output level from before the civil war in the North African country, a senior company official said Monday.
Speaking at a conference in London, Wintershall vice president Klaus Langemann said the company's output was being restricted by infrastructure constraints and that production would rise once a new oil export pipeline in Libya was completed.
Langemann said the company's production facilities suffered no damage during the civil war, and that it was able to boost production up to around 50,000 b/d within a week of the end of the war.
He also said that Libya had asked Wintershall to help build a new export pipeline together with the state-owned NOC and Agoco.
Langemann also said Wintershall was committed to a long-term future in Libya, although he said the company's exploration efforts would depend on the terms offered for new blocks.
"In the last rounds it was shown that companies over-bid," he said.
Asked whether Wintershall would take part in any future exploration bidding rounds in Libya, Langemann said: "We wouldn't rule it out." For now, though, Langemann said the political framework for expanding Libya's oil sector was not yet in place.
"The decision-making regime is not there at the moment," he said.
(Source: Platts)
