VIENNA (Sputnik) — According to Ahairish, the government is doing its best to regain control of the oil fields that have been captured by extremist groups and to protect the other oil fields.
Ahairish noted that the internationally recognized authorities in Libya, based in the city of Tobruk, intend to normalize the country's oil production levels in the next two years.
"Production has fallen to 450,000 barrels per day due to armed conflicts, whereas earlier it was reaching 1.5-1.7 million barrels [per day]," Abdourhman Taher Ahairish said on the sidelines of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Vienna.
The country is currently divided between two conflicting governments — the internationally recognized Council of Deputies, based in Tobruk, and the self-proclaimed General National Congress, based in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
The official authorities do not control a number of key territories. According to UN experts, Daesh (also known as ISIL or Islamic State) terrorist group has up to 3,000 members in Libya. Russia has outlawed Daesh, designating it terrorist organization.
