TRIPOLI, Libya, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- A dour national security situation in Libya shouldn't be viewed as a long-term threat to energy investors, the head of a Libyan oil company said.
National Oil Corp. Chairman Nurri Berruein brushed off concerns about production capacity.
"Libya is still an excellent place for investing in the oil and gas industry and other sectors in the country," he told The Libya Herald in an interview published Thursday. "The current security situation does not constitute any hindrance to investment in the medium and, of course, the long term."
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its August monthly market report outages in member states Iraq and Libya were in part to blame for oil prices hovering above the $100 per barrel mark for much of the second quarter of 2013.
Oil field strikes and the closure of some export terminals pushed oil production from 1.4 million barrels per day in January to around 250,000 barrels per day, the government said.
Libya hosts a two-day oil and natural gas investment conference starting Sept. 16. Berruein said there are opportunities for new exploration for oil and natural gas in "all sectors" of the industry.
