Arabian Gulf Oil Co News

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…

An oil tanker is expected to load crude at Libya’s Marsa el-Hariga terminal this week, the first since a blockade by eastern forces in January slashed the OPEC member’s oil production to a trickle.The Delta Hellas tanker will enter Libya’s Hariga port on Wednesday and load 1 million barrels of oil from the port’s storage, the Arabian Gulf Oil Co which operates the port said in a statement.Eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar said last week his forces would lift their eight-month blockade of oil exports, which depressed the OPEC member’s production down to around 100,000 barrel per day (bpd).Trading arm of China’s Sinopec , Unipec- which prior to the blockade was one of the main lifters of Mesla and Sarir crude grades from the terminal- booked the tanker, two trading sources said.Unipec

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.

A tanker has started loading crude at Libya's eastern port of Hariga for the first time in nearly nine months, after a federalist group agreed to re-open it last week, a state oil company official said on Wednesday. The tanker Aegean Dignity arrived at the port on Tuesday. Arabian Gulf Oil Co, a subsidiary of state National Oil Corp .(NOC), was able to raise output at its main oilfield, Sarir, to 50,000 barrels per day as a result. "The ship is loading at Hariga, it will load about 900,000 to 1 million barrels," the official said.   Reporting by Julia Payne

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 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.

Kazakh CPC Blend crude strengthened on Tuesday as the outlook soured for the resumption of rival Libyan oil exports and a loading programme showed lower Azeri loadings in May. In the Platts window, oil major Total bid for CPC at dated Brent minus 50 cents, some 20 cents stronger than previous price estimates, but found no sellers, traders said. In the Urals market, Eni offered a cargo in the Baltic at dated Brent minus 75 cents, but found no buyers as the levels were considered too strong. Traders said CPC might be strengthening as the market for light barrels in Europe might be tightening. Azeri Light oil exports will decline in May to 748,000 barrels per day from 818,000 bpd in April, traders said on Tuesday, citing a loading programme.