Spanish oil firm Repsol said it is making final preparations to resume drilling in Libya in early 2013, adding to signs that the Opec member's key industry is returning to normal after the 2011 civil war.

"We have ordered a new drilling rig and we will start as soon as that arrives, probably early next year," said a Repsol executive on the sidelines of the North Africa Oil and Gas conference.

A spokesman said the first drilling would be in the east Libyan desert and production was now close to the 350,000 barrels per day it was pumping before the war. While the country has impressed analysts by ramping up production more quickly than expected, it has so far had only limited success.-Reuters