Libya has recommenced production from the Waha oil field bringing the country’s total production to 580,000 barrels per day, a senior Libyan oil official revealed.

According to the official, oil output from the field is being redirected to the Ras Lanuf export terminal rather than the usual Es Sider port due to limited storage.The Waha field, which is operated by the Waha Oil Company, is one of the key contributors for the major Es Sider export grade. It is the first Es Sider field to resume operation, producing 50,000 bpd as at Tuesday.

Output from the field was around 330,000 bpd before the war in 2011, but some infrastructure had been damaged and capacity was reduced.The Es Sider port currently has only a storage capacity of 1.2 million barrels compared to the 5 million barrels level before the war. The Es Sider grade will therefore be divided between Ras Lanuf and Es Sider as output increases.

Ras Lanuf and Es Sider ports were part of the facilities shut in from December 2014 till July this year by the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) due to payment issues. After a deal was signed with PFG, the terminals were afterwards seized by the Libyan National Army under eastern commander Khalifa Haftar in September.

Exports resumed from the Ras Lanuf port in September and exports of the Es Sider grade are expected to be resumed this month.

Libya is targeting a total production of 900,000 bpd by the end of this year. This is subject to the resumption of its major western oilfields; El Sharara and El Feel, or else production will end up at around 650,000 to 700,000 bpd, Reuters reports.

Anita Fatunji