Libya’s Central Bank Sends Warning About Slashed Oil Production
- Unrest has cost the country over $160 billion in past 3 years
- Bank says action must be taken to protect sole revenue source
Valve control wheels are seen on pipes at the Zawiya oil refinery near Tripoli, Libya, on Monday, Aug. 29, 2011.
Photographer: Shawn Baldwin/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Libya’s central bank said recent disruption had slashed production by around 350,000 barrels a day, while unrest and shutdowns over the past three years have cost the OPEC member more than $160 billion in direct and indirect losses.
Gross domestic product has fallen to 19 billion dinars ($13.9 billion) this year from 112 billion dinars in 2012, the bank said in a statement on its website on Tuesday. The continued shutdowns of pipelines will force the regulator to take additional measures that will affect spending, which it has been “exerting the utmost effort to avoid,” it said, without elaborating.