Image Courtesy: eNCA

TRIPOLI: An explosion on a pipeline carrying crude oil from Libya's south to a port terminal in its north Tuesday will slash production, the National Oil Company said.

"NOC continues to investigate the causes of the explosion" north of the town of Marada, it said in a statement.

The company said it expected production to drop by between 70,000 and 100,000 barrels per day (BPD) after the blast along the pipeline from Zaggut to the eastern port of Al-Sidra, one of the North African country's main export terminals.

The line is operated by the Waha Oil Company, which pumps around 250,000 BPD from oilfields in Libya's desert south.

Waha is an NOC subsidiary working in joint venture with US companies ConocoPhillips, Hess, and Marathon Oil.

Libya produces around one million BPD, but production is regularly disrupted by acts of sabotage, as well as protests over wages or politics.

With estimated oil reserves of 48 billion barrels, Libya used to produce 1.6 million BPD before the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.