Libyan Central Banker Pins Revival Hopes on Higher Oil Output

Libyan Central Banker Pins Revival Hopes on Higher Oil Output

(Bloomberg) --

Libya needs to boost oil output by almost 40% of its current level in order to cover its spending needs and begin revamping an economy battered by a decade of war, the OPEC nation’s central bank governor said.

With oil as Libya’s nearly sole source of income, “it is of course imperative that production rates in 2022 have to go higher,” Sadiq Al-Kabir said in an interview in the capital, Tripoli. The nation, which sits atop Africa’s largest proven crude reserves, is currently pumping 1.3 million barrels per day. Al-Kabir says daily output needs to climb to a daily 1.8 million barrels next year.