Tripoli— Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) reaffirmed the increase of oil production that has been taking place since last year, maintaining that parties disputing this fact such as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) lack correct data or they rely on old statistics.
Libya’s oil production registered a daily increase of 19% in January compared to the annual daily average of 2024. “Libya’s oil production reached a monthly average of 1,400,000 barrels per day last January, with the highest daily production rate reaching 1,430,000 barrels per day, leaving no room for doubters,” a statement issued by NOC on Sunday said.
NOC insisted that media outlets should rely on data issued by NOC “as it is the official body authorized to monitor and follow up on Libyan oil production, and it is the only one capable of announcing or publishing the correct numbers and everything related to the Libyan oil sector,” rather than on unreliable sources.
In order to end the controversy over oil production rates, NOC said “we confirm that everything that was published on the Corporation’s official page or through official statements in its name, or through official statements by its Chairman of the Board of Directors or its official spokesperson, is correct, true and reliable information, and there is no doubt about it.”
Explaining the confusion resulted from OPEC’s report on oil production in Libya, NOC said, “the numerical value of daily production rates does not necessarily have to match the numerical value of its monthly or annual average. Therefore, the numbers published by NOC on its page are for daily production rates, not for average monthly or annual numbers, which OPEC reported as being in contradiction of the value of the daily production rates announced by NOC”.
In order to give a complete and comprehensive picture, NOC cited an example that it said illustrates how the “confusion, which unfortunately led to a wave of skepticism against the corporation, was formed”. In 2023, the average annual production amounted to about 1,189,000 barrels per day, and in 2024, this annual average decreased to 1,138,000 barrels per day due to the declaration of force majeure, while the average annual production for the same year 2024 was expected to reach 1,237,000 barrels per day.
Meanwhile, “the average monthly production, in December 2024 alone, reached 1,300,000 barrels per day, while, according to another statistical pattern for reading daily rates and not annual or monthly rates, daily production on December 31 reached 1,416,000 barrels per day,” NOC’s statement said.
It added, daily production does not reflect export rates because a portion of which is allocated for local consumption averaging 170-180 thousand bpd in refineries, and 15-20 thousand bpd in the Ubari power station. The rest would be exported which includes the foreign partner’s share.
Worried of the reaction of the Libyan public, NOC stressed that increasing oil production is its first priority and it will work hard to maintain the current production rates throughout 2025. Hoping that Libyans will support and rally around it, as “it is, first and last, the impregnable fortress of your capabilities, your wealth, and the sustenance of your children, today and tomorrow”.