Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO) has boosted its production from about 150,000 bpd to 290,000 barrels per day, and expects to reach 350,000 bpd by the end of 2016, the Chairman of the company revealed.

According to the Chairman, Mohamed Shatwan, production from the company should reach 300,000 bpd soon, adding another 50,000 bpd by the end of 2016.

“We have an ambitious plan under which it is possible after a period to reach 400,000 bpd,” he said adding that it might take about two years to achieve the goal.

Shatwan noted that damages done to the company’s fields by militant over the past two years have been controlled.

Output of AGOCO's five major fields, Bayda is still shut due to a technical problem at Ras Lanuf, production at Nafoura has been reduced to 22,000 bpd, almost half of its capacity, because of ongoing maintenance work while a storage tank at the Messla field that was damaged in 2011 has not been renovated as a result of the withdrawal of foreign workers.

“We ask on this occasion that foreign companies return to work and carry out operations to check security, and if they do not return we will have to find another solution,” he said.

AGOCO, which is a subsidiary of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) that operates in eastern Libya, increased its output from about 150,000 bpd since military commander Khalifa Haftar, took possession of control of some of the country's main oil terminals from a rival force from September 11 to 12, 2016.

After the seizure, the NOC reopened three formerly blocked ports but key pipelines in western Libya remain blocked and Libya remains politically and militarily divided.

Ibrahim Alawami, the head of the NOC's measurement department, on Thursday said that the nation’s production was between 450,000 and 490,000 bpd and would increase to about 500,000 bpd by the end of this month.

Amongst the oil ports seized by Hangar's forces, Zueitina had been shut since late 2015, while Ras Lanuf and Es Sider ports had been shut since 2014. The first tankers moored at Ras Lanuf last week, but the Es Sider port which was seriously damaged during fights, needs repairs before exports can resume, Reuters reports.

Anita Fatunji