Libya is currently producing 600,000 b/d of crude oil, of which 140,000 b/d are going to refineries and the remainder is being exported, the chairman of the Libyan National Oil Company Nuri Berruein said Sunday.
Berruein, speaking to reporters in the Qatari capital on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, also said the giant Elephant field, which started up earlier in the week, was producing 40,000 b/d and he expected output to rise to 130,000 b/d capacity "within a week or two."
The Elephant field is operated by the Mellitah Oil Company, a joint venture with Italy's Eni.
"We are producing 600,000 b/d and part of that, which is 140,000 b/d, goes to refining," Berruein said when asked how much Libya was exporting currently, adding that the production figure was the information as of two days ago.
He said that he expected production to rise to around 800,000 b/d by the end of the year and pre-war output before the end of 2012. Libya produced an average 1.6 million b/d before the February 17 rebellion, which ended with the ouster and death of Moammar Qadhafi on October 20.
Asked where the incremental crude would come from in the next few weeks, Berruein said he expected production to ramp up from fields that have already been brought on line.
However, the Waha fields were not expected to start up for at least a month or a month and a half because of issues with the Sidra oil export terminal.
"We are building up production and we expect some others may come," Berruein said. "We expect Sharara and Elephant to pick up, Wintershall, AGOCO fields and the Akakus fields," he said, referring to the fields that have resumed output.
"Before the end of next year, we go back to our pre-war level," he added. He did not give a figure but he later told al-Jazeera television that Libya hoped to reach its pre-crisis level of 1.7 million b/d before the end of next year.
He said there had been some damage to oil and gas installations during the eight-month armed rebellion against the Qadhafi regime but the cost of repairs was not as high as earlier expected.
"I would say we don't have a fixed figure but I'm sure it's going to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars and not billions," Berruein said.
He also reiterated the transitional Libyan government's policy that no new oil contracts would be awarded until an elected government and parliament are in place. However, gas exploration contracts awarded during the Qadhafi era would be honored and companies awarded the contracts would return once a force majeure declared during the crisis is lifted, Berruein said.
Asked if Libya's new leaders would view more favorably countries that had helped the rebels in their battle against Qadhafi's troops, he replied: "If everything else is equal then we will favor our friends."
