With more than 47 billion barrels, Libya holds Africa’s largest proven oil reserves. When the uprising against Moammar Gadhafi broke out in February 2011, oil represented 95 per cent of its export earnings - with 1.65 million barrels exported per day - and 25 per cent of GDP. This declined during the conflict but has picked up again since Gadhafi’s fall. For the National Transitional Council - the interim governing authority that will now be replaced by the newly elected assembly - Libya’s reconstruction hinged on boosting oil sales. It’s a vision that was embraced with zeal: recent estimates put the amount of oil currently being exported at 1.4 million barrels per day, just short of the prewar output.
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