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El Sharara Oilfield News

11 Nov 2014

Libya's Hariga Port, El Sharara Oilfield Still Closed

Protesters at Libya's 120,000-barrel-per-day Hariga port are still blocking oil exports, an oil official said on Tuesday. "We are trying to solve the issue," the official said. "Talks are ongoing." The protesters say they have not been paid, he said. Reporting by Ayman al-Warfalli

07 Aug 2014

Militia Clashes Spread Towards Zawiya Oil Port

Photo courtesy UK Libyan Embassy

Clashes in Libya spread from Tripoli to the western town of Zawiya near Tunisia's border, where a large oil port is located, killing four people over the last two days, local town council officials said on Thursday. Foreign governments have mostly closed their embassies and evacuated staff after three weeks of clashes turned Libya's two main cities - Tripoli and Benghazi - into warzones in the worst fighting since the NATO-backed war against Muammar Gaddafi. Three years after Gaddafi's fall…

22 Jul 2014

Suicide Attack Escalates Libya Violence, Oil Output Slips

Crude output slips for first time since port deal; fresh clashes in Tripoli and Benghazi. Brega oil port seen open in few days. A twin suicide bombing at a Libyan army base in Benghazi killed at least four solders in an escalation of clashes between Islamist militants and regular forces battling to oust them from the eastern city. A first attacker blew himself up at the entrance to Benghazi's special forces headquarters, allowing a second suicide bomber to detonate his explosives at the base and kill at least four troops, a security source said. Suicide bombings are rare in Libya, where a fragile government is struggling to impose order. Tripoli and Benghazi are now caught up in some of the fiercest fighting between rival armed groups since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

14 Jul 2014

High Shipping Costs Deter Buyers of W. Africa Crude

Nigerian crude oil differentials held at two-year lows on Monday as demand remained subdued, partly due to high shipping costs from West Africa to Europe. Nearly half of the loading program for August, which originally had 65 cargos, was unsold on Monday. But traders said that demand might pick up temporarily later this week as traders placed cargoes for India Oil Company's import tender. High freight rates aboard suezmaxes to Europe are deterring shipments to refineries there, traders said. Rising exports of similar oil grades from Libya has also hurt demand. Libyan oil output has risen to 470,000 barrels per day (bpd) as the El Sharara oilfield ramps up, the state-run National Oil Corp (NOC) said on Sunday.

13 May 2014

Med Crude-Urals Weakens to Cheapest in over a Year

Russian Urals prices in the Mediterranean fell to their weakest in over a year on Tuesday, reflecting poor refining margins and an abundance of cheap alternative grades, although traders still expect a recovery if Russian exports fall in June. "Urals margins have been weak for a long time and now they have just gone negative. Everyone was expecting some strength in May but the market has gone in the opposite direction. I have some, but not much, hope of a big strengthening in June," a Urals dealer with a trading house said. "There is a May Urals cargo overhang. Some alternative grades such as Azeri and CPC have been trading weakly recently," said a trader with a major. "As soon as the backlog clears and June dates begin to emerge, I expect some strengthening".

11 Apr 2014

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…

08 Apr 2014

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.

08 Apr 2014

Med Crude-Kazakh CPC Strengthens, Azeri Exports to Drop

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.

11 Mar 2014

Libya says halts tanker outside rebel port; rebels deny it

Rebels deny losing control of North Korean-flagged tanker; Government says tanker being taken to western port. Oil blockade has slashed vital government revenues. Libya on Monday stopped a North Korean-flagged tanker that had loaded oil from a rebel-held port, after naval forces briefly exchanged fire with the rebels, officials said. But in a sign of the chaos and conflicting information typical for Libya, rebel leader Ibrahim Jathran denied in a televised statement broadcast from a ship that he had lost control of the oil tanker. The LIbyan officials also said the government will assemble forces to "liberate" all occupied ports, raising the stakes over a blockage that has cut off vital oil revenue.

04 Mar 2014

Med Crude-CPC Blend Under Pressure, Saudi OSPs Awaited

Russian Urals prices were steady on Tuesday as the market awaited Saudi Aramco's official selling prices for April, while Kazakh CPC Blend remained under pressure on ample supplies. There was no activity in the Platts window. Kazakh CPC Blend remained weak with buying interest coming at discounts to dated Brent while sellers offered over dated Brent plus 10 cents cif Augusta, above Monday's low deal, traders said. "There's a big overhang on CPC, a lot was added to the programme and everyone was covered already," one trader said. On Monday, the Kazakh CPC Blend differential fell after an updated loading programme was issued showing that March exports would be boosted to 3.26 million metric tons, up from the initial program of 3.02 million metric tons.