Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 21 /Trend T.Konyayeva, A.Tagiyeva/
The registration of foreign companies seeking to participate in the tender for exploring new oil fields in Libya is completed, the National Oil Corporation of Libya reported in an official statement on Monday.
The registered companies include Morgan Stanley, the Kuwait Oil Company, Nobel Oil Company, Petroplus, the Saudi Arabian Bakri, PetroCo, the Galaxy Oil Company and the Link Energize.
A special commission has been formed to examine applications of the companies.
The Libyan Oil National Company announced a deadline for resuming contracts for companies which suspended their contracts after the war in Libya.
Last week, the National Oil Corporation of Libya told Trend that Libya would announce a tender for issuing licenses to foreign companies to explore new oil fields.
"Libya is seeking to increase oil production, and exploration of new fields is required to this end," the corporation said.
To date, oil production in the country reached 600,000 barrels per day, and the figure will hit 800,000 by late 2011.
Oil extracted in Libya will be mainly transported in the same directions as before the revolution, and the revision of previously concluded contracts is possible only after the elections.
The corporation also noted that 1.3 million barrels from the planned 1.7 million by mid-2012 will be exported.
Libya is the eighth in terms of crude oil producers among the 12 OPEC countries and the third - in Africa after Nigeria and Angola. The main importer of Libyan oil is Italy, followed by Germany, France and Spain.
Libya's proven oil reserves are 45 billion barrels. Libya extracted 1.5 million barrels of oil per day before the war.
Head of Libya's National Oil Corporation Nouri Beruin said in September that currently Libya produces oil in only on the Sarir field, but over the next six months oil production will begin from all fields of the country and will reach 0.8-1million barrels per day.