Libya’s National Oil Corporation hopeful of ports reopening

The chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) has described efforts to reopen four oil export ports in the war-torn country as a top priority.

The four ports – Es Sider, Zawiya, Ras Lanuf and Zueitina – account for about 860,000 barrels a day in crude exporting capacity and have been shut due to the five-year civil war that has decimated oil exports from the country that boasts Africa’s greatest oil reserves.

“The opening of the ports and the increase of production are absolutely our top priorities,” NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla said in remarks published Monday on the NOC’s website. “We have heard hopeful noises in recent days about the opening of the ports.”