Mauritania's first attempt at oil production has been put off until the end of the month, officials in the West African country said on Friday.

Mauritania had planned to pump its first barrel of oil on Feb. 17, but had to postpone production to the end of the month or early March for technical reasons, officials from the Ministry of Mines and Industry confirmed in a telephone interview with Xinhua.

An offshore oil reserve of 150 million barrels was discovered in 2001 near Chinguetti, 65 km west of the capital Nouakchott. It can be exploited for nine years with a daily output of 75 thousand barrels.

Mauritania is expected to produce 18.4 million barrels of oil this year. The state will take thirty-five percent of the oil revenue, while the remaining money will be used in exploration and exploitation of new oil fields.

In order to prevent corruption and ensure transparency, the Mauritanian government decided on Feb. 8 to set up a special state bank account to manage all oil revenues.

With a population of 2.5 million, Mauritania has been one of the world's least developed countries, whose economy relies mainly on agriculture and fisheries.

Source: Xinhua