Azerbaijan, Baku, July 27 / Trend A. Badalova /
Libya expects to restore pre-war oil production level in October, which is later than previously predicted terms, Reuters reported with the reference to Libyan Deputy Oil Minister Omar Shakmak.
"If everything goes as planned and there are no more interruptions, I think within three months time from now ... we hope we will achieve the 1.6 (million bpd)," Shakmak said.
According to Shakmak, the reasons for delay are interruptions and the slow return of oil services firms to the North African country.
"Our plan was for by the end of July, the second quarter, but there are a lot of reasons - one of them the interruptions ... and also the delay of the support from oil technical service contractors. They are not back 100 percent," he said.
Currently, Libya produces 1.56 million bpd, Shakmak said.
Talking about future plans he said that the country's oil output could reach 2 million barrels by late 2015.
"We're talking about the capacity of the production, but the plan is that we should be able to have such production," he said.
Libyan oil production reached 1.55 million barrels per day in May, 2012, which was a record index during the period after the revolution in the country in February 2011. Exports of crude oil from Libya amounted to about 6.605 million barrels per week.
Libya ranks eighth in terms of oil production volume among the 12 member-states of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and third in Africa after Nigeria and Angola. Italy is the main importer of Libyan oil, followed by Germany, France and Spain.
Libya's proven oil reserves amount to 47 billion barrels. Before the revolution, Libya extracted 1.6 million barrels of oil per day.