Eni SpA (ENI.MI, E) expects to resume some Libyan natural gas production by mid-October, though oil production could take much longer, Chairman Giuseppe Recchi said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires.

Recchi said restarting oil production is more technically demanding than restarting natural gas, and it could take a year for oil output to resume.

Libya 's oil output has fallen from over 1.6 million barrels a day due to shutdowns related to the uprising to overthrow Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

Major oil producers are still assessing what damage, if any, occurred to oil fields and transportation infrastructure. And there are still safety concerns amid continued fighting in some areas.

Eni's quarterly results took a hit from the loss of Libyan output. At the start of Libya 's civil war in mid-February, Eni had the largest operations of any foreign energy company in North Africa , with hydrocarbon output of about 280,000 barrels a day of oil equivalent.

Recchi added that it's too early to say whether the transitional government is prepared for a quick resumption of crude production. Conditions in the country remain difficult for conducting normal business operations, he noted.
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