TRIPOLI, Libya, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Once Libyan oil production gets rolling, energy companies are likely to expand operations there, an executive from ConocoPhillips said.
The International Energy Agency, in its latest oil market report, said crude oil production in Libya rose from around 75,000 bpd in September to around 500,000 bpd in November.
The IEA said it expected Libyan oil production to reach 800,000 bpd by the first quarter of 2012 and 1.17 million bpd by the end of next year.
James Mulva, chief executive officer at ConocoPhillips, told Bloomberg News, that the door was open for energy companies to return to Libya.
"We feel we can restore production and hopefully this gives us the opportunity to do even more," he was quoted as saying.
British energy companies BP and Royal Dutch Shell recently announced plans to resume operations in Libya. BP was under fire for its deal brokered before the war but Bloomberg notes the country's new government aims to honor previous contracts.
European governments had suggested they would delay an embargo on Iranian oil while waiting for Libyan oil production to return to pre-war levels.
Libya, before the international military intervention in March, was producing close to 1.6 million barrels of oil per day, of which 1.3 million barrels were exported.