Libyan-U.S. Venture Waha Oil Co. Resumes Crude Output

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-11-28/libyan-u-s-venture-waha-oil-co-resumes-crude-output.html

By Ola Galal

(Bloomberg) -- Waha Oil Co., a U.S.-Libyan joint venture, resumed crude output at a rate of 16,000 barrels a day from two fields, representing 5 percent of its total production capacity, Libya’s National Oil Corp. said on its website today.

The Tripoli-based company plans to raise its output to the maximum level “as soon as possible” after pumping crude from the Dahra and Samah fields, Libyan state-run NOC said.

Waha Oil was producing 350,000 to 400,000 barrels of crude a day before protests erupted against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, roughly a quarter of the country’s pre-crisis output. The company is 59 percent owned by NOC, with the rest held by ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil Corp. and Hess Corp.

Libya, holder of Africa’s biggest crude reserves, is currently producing more than 750,000 barrels a day. The North African country pumped 1.6 million barrels a day before the rebellion broke out in February.

--Editors: John Buckley, Rob Verdonck

To contact the reporter on this story: Ola Galal at ogalal@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss at sev@bloomberg.net.