Tripoli, Jan 19 The Acting Chairman of Libya's state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC), Masoud Sulaiman, said that the company plans to increase daily oil and gas production to two million barrels over the next three years if "the right funds are made available."
Speaking at the third Libya Energy and Economy Summit in Tripoli on Saturday, Sulaiman announced that Libya's oil sector is on a path of continuous recovery.
He highlighted the NOC's achievements over the past three years, including a significant increase in crude oil production, which has surpassed 1.41 million barrels per day, along with gains in gas and condensate production, according to a NOC statement published on its Facebook page, reports Xinhua news agency.
Sulaiman confirmed that the NOC is making efforts to advance the local petrochemical industry and seeks to enhance refining capabilities to meet both local and international demand. He also emphasised the importance of encouraging the private sector to play a key role as a service provider for the oil and gas industry.
The NOC revealed on Friday that the country's daily oil production exceeded 1.41 million barrels, and gas production indicators recorded more than 210,000 equivalent barrels.
The two-day Third Libya Energy and Economy Summit kicks off here on Saturday. The opening ceremony was attended by Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamed Dbeibah, as well as the secretaries-general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), the African Petroleum Producers' Organization (APPO), and the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).
Libya's oil industry, the backbone of its economy, has frequently been caught in the crossfire of political disputes since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
--IANS
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