OPEC exempts Libya from oil production cut

Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced on Friday that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had exempted it from production cuts because of difficult conditions facing the country.

A statement issued by the NOC confirmed that the decision to exempt Libya from the production cuts was taken during a meeting held on Thursday via video conferencing.

On Thursday, the OPEC+ group, which includes the Saudi Arabia-led OPEC and other oil producers led by Russia, reached an agreement to increase oil production by 500,000 barrels a day starting from January.

The statement added that the meeting attendees welcomed Libya’s resumption of production and confirmed that it would continue to be excluded from cuts at this stage, in view of its urgent need to increase production rates and overcome economic problems.

The statement indicated that the meeting was aimed at assessing the state of the international oil market in terms of supply, demand and stock levels, and discussed the extent of member states’ commitment to cooperate regarding the agreed-upon production rates.

Libya: French oil company discusses partnership to boost production

The statement explained that the organisation:

Decided to reduce oil supplies by 5.7 million barrels per day, starting from January 2021.

According to the statement, the concerned parties agreed to extend the production cuts at 7.2 million barrels per day, instead of the 5.8 million barrels per day as stipulated in a previous agreement.

Many oil fields and installations were shut down last January by militias loyal to General Khalifa Haftar, supported by Russia and the United Arab Emirates.

In September, Haftar announced ending the siege of oil installations.

During the siege, Libya’s oil production fell to less than 100,000 barrels per day. However, the NOC managed to increase production after lifting the siege to 1.2 million barrels per day, which equals the rate of production before January 2020.

Read: UAE finds its voice within OPEC, complicating oil diplomacy