Libyan oil output spikes in October: Platts (by Myra P. Saefong)

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Libya saw a month-on-month increase of 260,000 barrels per day in oil production in October, according to a Platts survey of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, oil industry officials and analysts released Monday. The nation's output for October totaled 350,000 barrels per day, the survey showed, as the nation continues to recover from the political turmoil in the wake of Col. Moammar Gadhafi's death last month. The spike in Libyan production contributed to a climb of 50,000 barrels per day in OPEC's output to 30.5 million barrels per day, according to the Platts survey. Even so, "the first rush of new supply should not be plotted as a straight line to getting Libya back to its full capacity," said John Kingston, Platts global director of news. "History shows oil output often doesn't return to its pre-strife level after periods of turmoil like Libya has seen." In Saudi Arabia, output dropped by 140,000 barrels per day in October.