Oil industry up and running

摘要

Life for Libya's oil industry is slowly returning to normal, as fighting remains focused on the area around the town of Sirte, far from the main ports of Tripoli, Mellitah and Benghazi. Troops backed by the National Transitional Council have yet to capture or locate the former leader, Muammar Gaddafi, but this has not stopped the country's new leaders from getting on with the job in hand, including ensuring that Libya's oil fields return to action as soon as possible. Total lived up to its promise of a quick restart, with the Al Jurf platform starting production towards the end of September. Vessel owners, too, have seen a return to action, with many existing contracts that were put on hold earlier in 2011 being honoured and even extended to cover the period of suspension.