Libya may cut output due to oversupply

Tripoli: Libya may cut oil production because the market is oversupplied, the nation's top oil official said.

"We are also weighing such a move because of the threats and intimidation against Opec," National Oil Corp Chairman Shokri Ghanem said in a telephone interview yesterday from Tripoli. "We have to protect our interests."

He declined to say when a decision would be made on whether to lower production, or give any indication of the size of the cut under consideration.

Ghanem cited threats of sanctions against Iran and US legislation allowing lawsuits against the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Libya is Africa's third-largest producer behind Angola and Nigeria. It produced 1.7 million barrels a day in May, according to Bloomberg estimates.