Shokri Ghanem, who defected from the government of Muammar Qaddafi in May, also expressed hope in an interview with Reuters the country would move to a democratic future as Libyan rebels held much of Tripoli.

Libya was Africa’s third-largest oil producer before the war, pumping almost 2 percent of world supplies. Its output has been slowed to a trickle, helping to boost crude oil prices to well over $100 a barrel.

“It will be possible to restart the production soon, maybe a few months,” Ghanem said.

“It will not be easy to start again at the same level. I think it will take a few months to come back to production, but to come back to the level of production that we used to produce it will take some time, maybe a year and a half.”

Ghanem, who said he had left the country on May 14, said some oil facilities had suffered as workers had left them quickly in “panic” and also because of looting.

The Libyan official was the head of Libya’s state oil company, the National Oil Corporation, and the head of its delegation to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). 

He appeared in Rome on June 1, saying he had defected because of relentless bloodshed under Qaddafi’s rule.

Ghanem said he was encouraged by the latest events in Libya.

“What we are hoping for now is no more blood is spilled and the Libyan people will be able to create a new government that is democratic and respects human rights,” he said.

“There was a lot of loss of life during this war. People are talking about more than 30,000 have been killed and of course a lot of destruction of the infrastructure.”

Asked if he would be seeking any role in a new Libyan government, Ghanem said it was a time for younger people.

“First of all I am now close to 70 and retirement is long overdue. I tried to retire during the former regime,” he said.

“I think now it is time for young people and a new generation to navigate this ship to safety, rather than depend on people who are old.” 

“But I will not hesitate to give any advice or consultancy or view that may help in rebuilding my country. The country now is young, it is reborn, so it is maybe more wise to depend on the young generation.”