Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced a pipeline breach on Monday, August 9, that will reduce production at the Gallo field by up to 70,000 barrels per day as the country’s energy infrastructure continues to stymie its production targets.

The pipeline connecting the Gallo and Al-Waha fields will be repaired, according to the Corporation. The NOC wants to pump up to 1.45 million barrels per day by the end of 2021, but it is having trouble with technical and maintenance concerns.

Libyan crude production has averaged 1.15 million-1.20 million barrels per day in the last two months, according to the S&P Global Platts monthly OPEC+ survey. Libyan oil output is to hover around 1.1 million barrels per day in the second half of 2021, according to Platts Analytics, but risks are skewed to the downside due to technical challenges, sporadic blockade threats, and the possibility that the December 24 presidential and parliamentary elections will spark another flare-up in civil war.

Due to a lack of funds allotted for maintenance and repairs because of political instability, NOC has struggled to maintain its assets, resulting in reduced output. A well exploded on July 26 at one of the three oil fields managed by the NOC’s Zueitina Oil Co.

Although Libya has Africa’s largest proven oil reserves, and its main light sweet Sharara and Es Sider export crudes have a high yield of middle distillates and gasoline, making them popular with refineries in Europe and China, much of the country’s infrastructure has been destroyed by civil war, militant and terrorist attacks, and ensuing general neglect over the past decade.