Brega Port News

The Valle di Siviglia tanker arrived at Libya's Brega port on Monday to load 30,000 tonnes of condensate to allow for continued gas production for local power plants, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said.Brega and other east Libyan ports have been blockaded since January by the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) and its allies as part of a wider conflict and dispute over the distribution of oil revenue.Eastern authorities have said they will allow the export of stored condensate and oil to enable the continued production of gas used by local power stations, after shortages had led to lengthy power cuts.The NOC said the shipment of condensate would allow for gas production to continue at 160 million cubic feet (mcf) per day.However, there would still be a shortfall of around 90 mcf

The eastern Libyan oil ports of Es Sider and Brega have been closed due to bad weather but crude production has not been affected, an official from state oil firm NOC said.Storage capacity is sufficient for a few days and the remaining ports were open, the official said.Tankers were waiting to dock at Es Sider and Brega, port sources said.A shipper's note and a port engineer said the other eastern Libyan ports were also closed.A similar closure this month led to a temporary reduction in production by Waha Oil Co as storage capacity at Es Sider was limited after some tanks were damaged during clashes last year. (Reuters, Reporting by Ayman al-Warfalli and Ahmad Ghaddar; writing by Ulf Laessing; editing by Jane Merriman and Jason Neely)

An oil tanker has docked at Libya's port of Hariga for the first time since security guards ended a strike this week and a storm passed, a port official said on Thursday. Authorities managed earlier this week to persuade security guards to end a strike over delayed salary payments, keeping Libya's only functional onshore oil export port open. A storm then further delayed the terminal's reopening. Greek-registered Minerva Zoe, which had been waiting to dock for a week, would start loading 725,000 barrels of oil soon, the official said, asking not to be identified. The tanker was bound for Italy. Another tanker importing 25,000 tonnes to Libya had also arrived, he said.

Two crew members were killed when unidentified military aircraft bombed a Greek-operated oil tanker anchored at the Libyan port of Derna, the Greek coastguard said on Monday. The Liberian-flagged ARAEVO was carrying 12,600 tons of crude oil and had 26 crew members on board. Two other crew members were wounded, the coastguard said. Athens-based Aegean Shipping Enterprises Co, which operates the vessel, said no oil had spilled as a result of the attack. The vessel, chartered by Libya's national oil company NOC, had been loaded at Brega port for transport to Derna. "Yesterday at 13:30 local time, a war plane bombed the front part of the ship, causing damage and injuring four crew members, of whom two died," said Elias Syrros, the company's safety manager.

Libyan oil ports and fields are safe and under government control, the country's interior minister said on Friday after visting the eastern Brega port. "This visit is a message to the world and Libya that the Libyan state is controlling the oilfelds and ports," Omar Sanaki told Reuters after the visit with several lawmakers. Brega was the site of a recent oil protest.   Reporting by Feras Bosalum

Barely a day after Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC) lifted force majeure at Hariga port, two refiners are already preparing to pick up Sarir crude from storage over the next two weeks, trading and shipping sources said on Friday. The Aegean Dignity is on subjects - meaning final arrangements are being made- to load crude at Hariga around April 15-16, sources said. Reuters AIS Live ship tracking showed the tanker with orders to sail to Libya. The charterer was Austrian energy group OMV, they added. Another refiner is looking to charter a ship to load the same grade around April 20-25.

Libya's navy has blocked Baku, an oil tanker allegedly chartered by Royal Asset Management, from loading crude at an eastern port that has been held for months by armed protesters demanding more autonomy from Tripoli, Reuters reported. Due to a government blockade, the transport of oil from Libya is illegal. An attempt by protesters to get oil to world markets independently would be a major escalation of the obstruction that has slashed Libya's oil exports, the Reuters report said. According to Reuters’ AIS Live ship tracking, the tanker is traveling north towards Malta after sailing around Libya since the end of December. The vessel was outside Brega port and then Zawiya before heading to Es Sider.   Sources: Reuters, staff