Libya's NOC Declares Force Majeure on Port of Hariga Exports
Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC) declared force majeure on Monday on exports from the port of Hariga and said it could extend the measure to other facilities due to a budget dispute with the country's central bank.Daily lost income "may exceed 118 million dinars ($26 million)", NOC said in its statement.The port was expected to load about 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April, on board six tankers, according to a loading schedule.Libyan oil output hit 1.28 million bpd in March…
East Libyan Forces Advance to Retake Oil Ports
East Libyan forces said on Thursday they had retaken the shuttered oil ports of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, though clashes resumed south of Ras Lanuf in the afternoon after a counter-attack by rival factions.Staff were evacuated from terminals in Libya's eastern oil crescent and exports were suspended last Thursday when armed opponents of eastern-based military commander Khalifa Haftar stormed the ports and occupied them.The closure has led to production losses of up to 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) and two oil storage tanks were destroyed or badly damaged by fires during the fighting.For the past week, Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) has pounded the area with air strikes as it mobilised to retake the ports…
Libyan Deal to End Oil Ports Blockade Needs Signing
Libyan Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) commander Ibrahim Jathran said on Monday he was ready to end a blockade at key oil terminals, but the U.N.-backed government still needs to sign an agreement for exports to resume. The PFG has been demanding payment of workers' wages as part of any deal to end the blockade of Ras Lanuf, Es Sider and Zueitina. Details of the negotiations have not been made public. A deal was thrown into doubt when the head of Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) in Tripoli, Mustafa Sanalla, wrote to the U.N. Libya envoy on Friday saying that it would set a "terrible precedent" to make payments to Jathran, who he blamed for the loss of some $100 billion in export revenue. The NOC has expressed concerns that Jathran's demands have exceeded salary needs.
Sarir Output Suspended due to Hariga Port Protest
A protest over wages that has shut the eastern Libyan oil terminal of Hariga has forced the operator of the Sarir oil field to suspend production of 100,000 barrels per day, an oil company spokesman said on Tuesday. Omran al-Zwai, spokesman for Libya's eastern state oil firm AGOCO, said production at the Messla oil field would also be reduced to a minimum within four or five days if exports continued to be blocked from Hariga. Exports were halted on Sunday after a group of Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) travelled to the port to protest over what they said were unpaid salaries. Two tankers have been delayed from loading as attempts are made to mediate the dispute, a port official said.
Urals Weakens Further in Baltic
Russian Urals crude differentials continued to slide in the Baltic on Thursday amid a flurry of activity with softer refining margins, pushed down by higher oil prices, still keeping buyers at bay. In the Platts window, Statoil bought a 100,000-tonne cargo from Glencore for loadings on Oct. 18-22 in the Baltic at dated Brent minus $2 a barrel, some 20 cents weaker than on Wednesday, traders said. Litasco, Total and Vitol have found no buyers with offers of minus $1.80, $1.75 and $1.85 to dated Brent correspondingly. In the south, Litasco increased its bids for 80,000 and 140,000 cargoes to minus 95 cents and minus $1.20 to dated Brent respectively, without success. The were no deals with both Azeri and CPC Blend in the Platts window.
Libya: Sarir Oilfield Closed, Hariga Port Tanks Full
Libya's Sarir oilfield has been closed and the Messla field has cut production because tanks at the eastern Hariga port are full, an oil official said on Tuesday. "The production of the Sarir oilfield is zero because it has been closed as the stores of Hariga oil Port are full enough," a spokesman for state-run oil firm AGOCO said. Reporting by Ahmed Elumami
More Disruption at Libya's Oil Ports
Libya may have averted a state collapse by striking a deal with eastern rebels to reopen occupied oil ports, but technical delays and simmering federalist dissent threaten to disrupt production once again. On Sunday, Libya's fragile government reached an agreement with Ibrahim al-Jathran, the leader of eastern rebels, to reopen two oil ports they were holding and lift a nine-month blockade crippling crude exports. Under the deal, Hariga and Zueitina ports will reopen immediately, with the larger Ras Lanuf and Es Sider terminals to be freed by Jathran's men in less than four weeks after more negotiations. Nearly three years after dictator Muammar Gaddafi's fall…
Libya's NOC Keeps Force Majeure in Place at Eastern Oil Ports
Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC) has yet to lift force majeure at the eastern ports of Zueitina and Hariga following a deal with federalist rebels to reopen them after a nine-month blockade, an oil ministry official said on Tuesday. "Force majeure is still in place, it has not been lifted. NOC has not instructed the ports to export oil yet," Ibrahim al-Awami said. Al Awami said staff at Arabian Gulf Oil Co (AGOCO), which runs the Hariga terminal, had joined a general strike in Benghazi that began on Sunday. It was unclear whether this would affect the port's ability to resume exports. Workers at Zueitina were carrying out maintenance and checking facilities before the resumption of exports, Al Awami said.
