Libya’s oil revenues have increased by 55%, at an average of $9.53 billion, during the first half of this year.
While the value of Libya’s oil revenues in the same period of this year amounted to $5.25 billion, according to the data of the Libyan Foreign Bank.
The data indicate that this year’s oil revenues have been gradually recovering since last March.
The boost is due to oil prices surge in international markets and political stability in the country.
Libya’s oil revenues
Revenues reached $2billion, but decreased in April to $1.303 billion, and recorded in May $1.389 billion, to rise in June to $2.138 billion.
Libya’s crude oil production averaged 1.163 million barrels per day in June, up from 1.157 million barrels per day in May.
The National Oil Corporation expects to achieve oil revenues of $25 billion this year.
Annual oil revenues ranged between $40 billion and $45 billion before 2013, according to previous World Bank reports.
More than 75% of public revenues are provided by oil revenues.
The government calculated the price of a barrel of oil at $45 at an export rate of 1.250 million barrels per day in the 2021 budget. At the time, the price of a barrel exceeded $74 in the international market.
Economist Ahmed Al-Mabrouk sees the importance of focusing on the benefits of the increase in oil revenues, which are strengthening the Libyan dinar, supporting the National Oil Corporation to increase production.
He also pointed “the need to resort to austerity and reduce spending to a minimum to control economic indicators”.
Raising oil production rates requires raising the allocations of the National Oil Corporation to spend on maintenance and development of oil wells and fields, and securing the salaries and expenses of workers, in order to increase production and enhance export operations, Al-Mabrouk explained.
Biggest reserve
Libya has the largest proven reserves of crude oil in Africa. It is and is one of the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The country was exempted from the cuts agreed upon by the OPEC+ alliance.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Libya, Siddiq Al-Kabir, had recently said that Libya needs to produce 1.7 million barrels per day to achieve financial sustainability.
According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates, Libya needs the price of a barrel of oil to reach $57 to achieve fiscal balance this year, and $70.3 next year.
The National Oil Corporation had said that the losses of production and oil infrastructure and lost opportunities for the state due to the illegal closures of fields and ports during the past nine years amounted to about $231 billion.
The country’s oil production decreased during 2013 to 933,000 barrels per day, and continued to falter due to the conflict in the country to reach 950,000 barrels in 2018.
Libya’s production also recorded one million barrels per day in 2019, before falling to 322,000 barrels per day on average at the end of 2020, according to official data.
