BREGA, Libya, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- With the regime in Tripoli on the verge of collapse, rebels in Libya are looking to resume oil production though the infrastructure is damaged, one worker said.
Rebel forces in Libya made important gains on Tripoli this week, prompting world leaders to say the reign of Moammar Gadhafi is "history" after more than 40 years.
Libya was one of Africa's top oil producers before the conflict began in March. The conflict shuttered much of the country's oil production by summer, however, prompting the International Energy Agency to call on member states to release strategic reserves to compensate for the loss.
Rebel officials have asked oil workers to return to work, National Public Radio reports.
World leaders at a meeting for a contact group on Libya in Istanbul said much progress has been made. It could be another year before oil production returns to pre-war levels of around 1.3 million barrels per day, however.
"Nothing is working here," oil worker turned driver Abdullah Abdul Rahman told NPR. "Everything is shut down."
