Wintershall’s Libya oil output at 70,000 b/d; builds pipeline

Business — June 18, 2012 at 14:30
Wintershall’s Libya oil output at 70,000 b/d; builds pipeline
(Note - Germany did not take part in the NATO operation)

Germany’s Wintershall is currently producing just over 70,000 b/d of oil in Libya, or around 70% of its output level from before the civil war in the North African country, a senior company official said Monday. Speaking at a conference in London, Wintershall vice president Klaus Langemann said the company’s output was being restricted by infrastructure constraints and that production would rise once a new oil export pipeline in Libya was completed.

“We are at more than 70% of our original production capacity, and we are producing a little beyond 70,000 b/d,” Langemann told the conference. Before the unrest in Libya began in February 2011, Wintershall was producing around 100,000 b/d from its fields in the country. Langemann said the company’s production facilities suffered no damage during the civil war, and that it was able to boost production up to around 50,000 b/d within a week of the end of the war.

He also said that Libya had asked Wintershall to help build a new export pipeline together with the state-owned NOC and Agoco. “We acted quickly, and the pipeline is now under construction,” Langemann said. “It will be finalized early next year.” This will help the company restore its pre-uprising output, Langemann told Platts later on the sidelines of the conference.

http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/Oil/8404897