“We’re building up production, we’re doing fine,” Nuri Berruien said, adding the target for 2012 was unchanged.

Before the February uprising, Libya was pumping around 1.6 million bpd, but civil war brought flows to a standstill, cutting off exports of around 1.3 million bpd to the international market. 

Berruien said that on Nov. 15 the NOC had taken over oil sales from Benghazi-based Agoco, which had shared control over them since the uprising began in February.

He said confusion over a recent tender by the eastern subsidiary arose from an overlap, but full responsibility would ultimately return to the NOC.

Agoco issued a tender to sell 1 million barrels of Sarir grade crude oil, a document howed.

“We agreed on a cut off point on 15 November, that was the handover, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t an overlap, because NOC started earlier and Agoco may have one case,” Berruien said.

He said NOC would be in charge of purchasing products, mainly gasoline, as well as oil sales

The oil chief said the Zawiyah refinery had return to its full capacity of 120,000 bpd that day, raising Libya’s onstream refining capacity to 160,000 bpd.

However, the country’s largest refinery, accounting for around two-thirds of its refining capacity, is likely to remain offline until the end of the year.

“All other small refineries are on full production, we are still waiting for Ras Lanuf, hopefully before the end of the year we will get Ras Lanuf,” he said referring to the largest oil refinery.

Berruien said a new era of transparency would guide Libya’s future oil transactions and the details of all new contracts would be published.

“Every cargo, we are going to put on our website ... We have the source of the crude, the amount, the pricing and the date of the lifting and the month of pricing. It’s never been done before.”

Libya’s interim oil minister Ali Tarhouni, now replaced by the newly-appointed Abdurrahman Ben Yazza, had previously promised to scrutinize all oil deals agreed during the rule of Muammar Qaddafi.

“Today nothing has been investigated, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t investigate. If we feel there is anything that is not right, we will look into it,” Berruien said.

Berruien reiterated that the NOC had not spoken with the British firm Heritage Oil about its reported $19.5 million purchase of a controlling stake in Benghazi-based Sahara Oil Services in October.

“I have said it many times, we’ve had nothing to do with this company. We haven’t had any discussions, or any agreements or any contracts,” he said.

He said Heritage Oil had met NOC representatives in Benghazi months ago but it was just an introductory meeting.

When asked about the Greenstream gas pipeline to Italy, Berruien said its line capacity was at 600 million cubic feet per day: “It restarted less than three weeks ago, at about 350 (million cubic feet), now it’s building up.”

Berruien said Libyan oil companies should have greater independence in doing their business.

“Of course we will have our monitoring, making sure everything is being done as per program, budgets, like any normal operation, but we don’t interfere in their day to day activities,” he said.

He welcomed the appointment of Ben Yazza as oil minister and said the two of them would travel together to the next OPEC meeting in December.