عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Libya to Increase Oil Production to 1.2 Million Bpd in Two Weeks

Fighters loyal to Libya's Tripoli-based government stand guard outside the headquarters of Libya's National Oil Corporation in the capital Tripoli on July 14, 2022. (AFP)
Fighters loyal to Libya's Tripoli-based government stand guard outside the headquarters of Libya's National Oil Corporation in the capital Tripoli on July 14, 2022. (AFP)
TT
TT

Libya to Increase Oil Production to 1.2 Million Bpd in Two Weeks

Fighters loyal to Libya's Tripoli-based government stand guard outside the headquarters of Libya's National Oil Corporation in the capital Tripoli on July 14, 2022. (AFP)
Fighters loyal to Libya's Tripoli-based government stand guard outside the headquarters of Libya's National Oil Corporation in the capital Tripoli on July 14, 2022. (AFP)

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) aims to bring back production to 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in two weeks, NOC said in a statement early on Saturday.

Current oil production is at 860,000 bpd, compared with 560,000 bpd before resuming production, NOC added.

Libya's crude production had resumed at several oilfields, after lifting force majeure on oil exports last week.

A blockade of oil output by groups aligned with eastern forces had cut off funding to the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah.

But last week Dbeibah appointed a new state oil company chief, leading to a swift end of the blockade.

"NOC is striving to increase production and bring it back to its normal rates of 1.2 million barrels per day in two weeks," according to the statement.

The Libyan oil ministry had said earlier that production is at more than 800,000 (bpd) and will reach 1.2 million bpd by next month.

The country's oil exports at times last year reached 1.2 million bpd.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

ECB President Fears Loss of Central Bank Independence

President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde attends a plenary session during the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, 24 January 2025. EPA/MICHAEL BUHOLZER
President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde attends a plenary session during the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, 24 January 2025. EPA/MICHAEL BUHOLZER
TT
TT

ECB President Fears Loss of Central Bank Independence

President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde attends a plenary session during the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, 24 January 2025. EPA/MICHAEL BUHOLZER
President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde attends a plenary session during the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, 24 January 2025. EPA/MICHAEL BUHOLZER

Central bank independence is being questioned in parts of the world and greater political influence over policy could undermined their ability to keep inflation down, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Monday.

US President Donald Trump said last week he would demand that the Federal Reserve lower borrowing costs, claiming that he knew interest rates much better than people in charge of making that decision, Reuters said.

"While recent research suggests that de jure central bank independence has never been more prevalent than it is today, there is no doubt that the de facto independence of central banks is being called into question in several parts of the world," Lagarde told a Hungarian central bank conference.

The Fed is expected to keep interest rates on hold this week even as the ECB is likely to cut, arguing that inflation is coming down only slowly and that some policy proposals of the Trump administration could actually increase price pressures, likely drawing criticism from the White House.

Lagarde meanwhile warned that political interference could lead to a "vicious circle" that might result in central bank independence being undermined.

"Political influence on central bank decisions can also contribute substantially to macroeconomic volatility," Lagarde said in a video address to Hungary, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban's political ally, former Finance Minister Mihaly Varga, was appointed as the bank's next governor from March.

Lagarde said that persistent political pressure on a central bank increases exchange rate volatility, and raises bond yields and the risk premia.

This sort of volatility could make it more difficult to keep inflation down, raising concerns that independent central banks are failing to deliver on their mandates, Lagarde said.

Such a sequence of events, she said, could then undermine the social consensus and further amplify volatility in the economy.