The Libyan Minister of Oil and Gas, Mohamed Oun, has told Bloomberg that Libya does not currently produce enough gas, confirming that the United States asked Libya and some producing countries to increase gas production due to the situation in Ukraine so it could make up for the shortage that would take place in Europe.
Oun added that Libya, due to the current circumstances, seeks to be “on no party’s side” and not take sides in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, noting that the National Oil Corporation has contracts with the Italian company Eni to reduce the amount of exported gas, reiterating that Libya cannot increase gas exports over the next few years.
When asked about the political situation in the country, the Minister of Oil and Gas said that the “legitimate” parliament had assigned a new prime minister (Fathi Bashagha) and asked him to form a new government and he will to present it next week, adding that he believes the situation wouldn’t escalate to violence because there’s wisdom on both sides.
Oun indicated that Libya is currently producing 1.2 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) and was seeking last year to reach 1.5 million bpd, but some difficulties prevented that, saying that his ministry will work avoid the oil and gas sector any potential conflict and will seek to submit a request to OPEC for a new quota.
