São Paulo – The decline in Libyan oil production and exports over the last nine months has led to losses of US$ 20 billion, according to statements made by the country’s minister of Finance, Hassan Zaqlam, in an interview to a local television channel, according to African news agency Panapress .
Still, Zaqlam claimed the current output is back up to 1 million barrels per day. Of these, according to him, 850,000 are exported at US$ 108 per unit and 150,000 are sent to refineries for domestic consumption.
Libya has been attempting to re-establish its oil production ever since the uprisings that led to the death of dictator Muamar Kadafi. Prior to that, the country produced 1.6 million barrels of oil per day.
Last week, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) estimated that Libyan oil output should return to normal in the coming six months. At the height of the civil war, production dropped as low as 47,000 barrels per day.
Last Sunday (18th), the Libyan minister of Finance also announced measures to create new jobs. He called on unemployed people to attend the Ministry of Labour and hand in reports of their qualifications, so that a committee may devise repositioning programs for them.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
