TRIPOLI, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The state-owned Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced on Friday that the country's daily oil production has dropped by 100,000 barrels per day due to its inability to maintain oil tanks damaged by armed conflicts.
"The National Oil Corporation expresses deep concern about having to reduce daily oil production as a result of the inability to carry out maintenance of tanks damaged by wars, as well as the disruption of some emergency projects," the NOC said in a statement.
Currently, 11 out of the 19 oil tanks are out of service, making it impossible to maintain oil production, according to NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla.
Waha Oil Company, a Tripoli-based company engaged in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, "was forced to reduce its production by about 100,000 barrels per day as a result of the lack of storage capacities, because of the suspension of maritime traffic in the ports of the Sirte Gulf," Sanalla said.
The NOC statement said bad weather caused the closure of most oil ports in the Sirte Gulf, but the closure could have been averted if proper infrastructure had been in place.
Oil and gas are a primary source of revenue for Libya. Nonetheless, armed conflict and the shutdown of oil fields and ports have hurt the sector in recent years.
Last month, Sanalla announced plans to carry out extensive maintenance work on a number of oilfields that had been damaged by armed conflicts and terrorist attacks, in order to maintain the average daily production of 1.2 million barrels.
In January, the daily oil production in Libya was about 946,000 barrels. ■