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(Arabian oil and gas) --
Anti-Gaddafi forces have not yet cracked the Libyan dictator's stronghold of
Sirte, the Colonel remains at large apparently within the country, and oil
infrastructure remains ablaze, but the Libyan NTC hopes to restart oil
production "within days", according to Ali Tarhouni, the NTC's oil
minister.
"In the next few days we expect a lot of oil wells will be
rehabilitated," Tarhouni told Reuters. Tarhouni has not specified which wells
will come back on line so soon or whether they will be used to meet domestic
demand or be used for cash-raising exports.
International Oil Companies have made it clear that they aim to return to
Libya under their pre-war contracts as soon as possible, with Italian firm Eni
stating that the recently-repaired major Greenstream gas export pipeline
to Italy will be running again by mid-October, and Spanish firm Repsol saying
production at their fields could restart within weeks.
However, concerns remain over security, after several oil fields have
been found to have been planted with land mines by retreating Gaddafi
forces.
mrcplast.com
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