LONDON: Libya, where oil production has been choked off due to strikes, hopes to quickly resume its normal output of 1.6 million barrels per day, its oil minister said on Wednesday.
"We managed to reach agreement with most people, just a few people are still making problems for us," Libyan Oil Minister Abdelbari al-Aroussi said Wednesday in London,
Libyan output plummeted to below 150,000 barrels per day at one point as strikes over alleged corruption shut production and export facilities, which helped keep global oil prices high.
Aroussi said they government was not resorting to force and was hopeful it could soon persuade the holdouts to return to work.
"As soon as we solve this issue, I believe that we can put back production in 3-4 days," Aroussi said at the Oil & Money conference.
He said output is currently fluctuating between 650,000 and 700,000 barrels per day, and put the cost of the strike at more than $5 billion (3.7 billion euros)
The Libyan economy is highly dependent on oil, which accounts for 80 percent of gross domestic product and 97 percent of exports.
Oil exports brought Libya about $50 billion last year.
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