Libya will invest $10 billion to $12 billion in its oil industry this year, exceeding its total investment from last year, chairman of Libyan National Oil Co. Shukri Ghanem said last week.

"We are expecting that our investment in the oil sector would reach between $10 billion to $12 billion in 2009. That figure is above the figure of 2008," Ghanem said.

Ghanem also estimated that the oil market currently has a surplus of 1 million barrels a day of crude oil production.

Libya's contribution to OPEC's production cuts agreed late in 2008 hasn't hurt the country's oil reserves, Ghanem said. "The cut that OPEC asked Libya to implement has not affected our oil fields and reserves," he said.

Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries met in Vienna last week where they reviewed production policy and decided not make another output cut is necessary. OPEC announced three production cuts in late 2008 totaling 4.2 million barrels a day.

Global Arab Network