WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- The decline in Libyan oil production may present a long-term risk to the health of the nation, a consultant group said.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration, the analytical arm of the Energy Department, said this week Libya exported about 80,000 barrels of oil per day during the first week of July. That's down from 830,000 barrels per day in July.
Libya closed some of its export terminals and cited protests and militant pressure for declining oil production. PFC Energy, a consultant group based in Washington, said there is a "real and rising" risk the Libyan state would collapse, the Platts news service reported Wednesday.
"Faltering state capacity and rising public ire mean that the government may not survive for that long if it is unable to effect at least a partial restoration of production currently still offline," the report said.
The International Energy Agency in 2011 called on its member states to release oil from their strategic reserves when civil war shoved Libya off the market.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its monthly report for September oil markets were well supplied.
"Crude stocks should gradually begin to build as refiners head into maintenance at the end of the third quarter and summer demand winds down," it said.
