RAS LANUF, Libya - Libya's battered oil towns are struggling to get back to work after months of clashes between rebels and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, Reuters reports. Oil production in the OPEC country has been at a virtual standstill for months.

The news source writes that Libya plans to restart production at two eastern oil fields in mid-September and resume shipping oil from Tobruk by the end of September. Global economies have been paying more than $100 a barrel for Brent crude since the civil war began in February, driving up import costs for major buyers such as Italy, Germany and France.

"Operations will start on September 15 and by the end of the month we will have the capability to export from Tobruk," Abdeljalil Mayuf, spokesman for Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO) told Reuters, referring to the Sarir and Mesla fields deep in the Libyan desert. Initial production will be 60,000-100,000 barrels per day.

Libya produced 1.6 million barrels of oil a day before an uprising against Gaddafi's 42-year-rule erupted in February.