STAVANGER, Norway- Energy company Wintershall is producing less than 10,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in Libya compared with 60,000 bpd earlier this year, a senior executive said on Tuesday.
The oil and gas unit of chemicals giant BASF operates eight onshore fields in Libya, where the oil industry has been battered by years of conflict and political turmoil.
Wintershall's C96 and 97 concessions lie 1,000 km (625 miles) southeast of the capital Tripoli.
"We produce when we can ... It is opportunistic depending on whether the (export) infrastructure is available," Martin Bachmann, head of exploration and production for Europe and the Middle East, told Reuters. "It could change tomorrow."
"We have been producing relatively constantly at the moment," he said in an interview, saying the production level was now roughly below 10,000 bpd.
Wintershall, Germany's biggest oil and gas producer, had produced at about 60,000 bpd in Libya earlier in 2018, he said, adding production was "difficult" given the security situation.
He also said the gas market in Europe looked stable ahead of the winter season but said it could tighten quickly with a cold snap, adding that the potential for such volatility was one indication of a balanced market.
(Editing by Edmund Blair) ((gwladys.fouche@tr.com; +47 23 31 65 94; Reuters Messaging: gwladys.fouche.reuters.com@reuters.net; Twitter handle: @gfouche))
