Hariga Port News

Libya's Hariga oil terminal will immediately return to normal operations, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) media office said on Wednesday, and the port manager said protesters were withdrawing.Exports at Hariga had been blocked by a group that said it was protesting for jobs.A senior NOC official said the blockade of Hariga had been lifted and the port had received instructions to resume operations.

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…

Libya's Petroleum Facilities Guards have stopped blockading the port of Hariga at Tobruk after being paid, they said in a video statement on Wednesday whose authenticity was confirmed by a guards member.The stoppage at Hariga began last month and contributed to a decline in Libyan oil output, a Libyan oil source said this week.(Reporting by Ayman al-Warfali, writing by Angus McDowall; editing by Grant McCool)

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

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.

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) based in Tripoli said on Thursday it had cancelled two oil cargoes from its May export program because a rival NOC in the east is blocking exports from Marsa al-Hariga. Mohamed el-Harari, spokesman for the NOC in Tripoli said in a statement that the standoff was costing Libya $10 million a day, and that revenue of $120 million had been lost so far. The NOC in Benghazi, which is loyal to Libya's eastern government, tried last month to export a first cargo of oil but the tanker was blacklisted by the United Nations and forced to return, deepening the rift between the rival NOCs. Eastern officials have since prevented crude being loaded onto a tanker sent to the Hariga port by the Tripoli NOC…

An oil company set up by Libya's eastern government is preventing a tanker from loading a cargo for its Tripoli rival, the National Oil Corporation (NOC), officials said on Tuesday. The eastern company, also calling itself the National Oil Corporation (NOC), ordered workers at Marsa el-Hariga port in eastern Libya not to load the tanker, which had been waiting for two days, a port official said. An eastern NOC official said the move was in line with the east's attempt to export a shipment of 650,000 barrels of oil last week in defiance of the authorities in Tripoli, part of a power struggle between Libya's rival administrations. The tanker, Seachance, had been initially due to load on April 26-28 and was part of the Tripoli NOC's loading programme, an NOC official in the capital said.

A tanker that Libya's rival eastern government had been using to try to export oil in defiance of the Western-backed administration in Tripoli returned to the country on Saturday, after it was blacklisted by the United Nations, the state oil company said. The eastern government's parallel oil company had hoped to sell the cargo of 650,000 barrels, but the United Nations measure required states to ban it from entering any port. Two competing governments, one in Tripoli and one in the east, backed by armed factions have struggled for control of the North African OPEC state since 2014. The eastern administration has set up its own National Oil Corporation in parallel to the Tripoli-based NOC.

An Indian-flagged oil tanker is returning to Libya, the North African country's rival oil corporation said on Thursday, after its failed first attempt to export crude oil led to the ship being blacklisted by the United Nations Security Council. The Distya Ameya tanker is heading to the western Libyan port of Zawiya, said Nagi al-Maghrabi, chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) set up by Libya's rival eastern government in parallel to the Tripoli-based NOC. The Tripoli NOC is recognized internationally as the legitimate seller of Libyan oil. The Tripoli NOC and its international backers say that if the eastern government succeeds in its long-held aim of selling oil independently…

The United Nations Security Council Libya sanctions committee blacklisted on Wednesday an Indian-flagged tanker carrying crude oil shipped by the rival eastern Libya government, said diplomats, which would prevent it from entering any ports. Libyan U.N. Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi wrote to the 15-member sanctions committee on Monday asking for the Distya Ameya tanker to be blacklisted, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The ship left Marsa el-Hariga port late on Monday. Diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the sanctions committee chair had informed them that there were no objections to the Dabbashi's request before a 3 p.m. (1900 GMT) Wednesday deadline so the ship was added to the sanctions list.

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

Libyan state security guards have started a protest at the eastern Hariga oil port, banning any oil exports, a Libyan oil official said on Saturday. A tanker had been waiting for three days to lift oil but the guards did not allow it, the official said, asking not to be named. The port is only open for fuel imports, he added. (Reporting by Ayman al-Warfalli; Writing by Ulf Laessing, editing by William Hardy)

Libya's eastern-most oil export terminal, Hariga, was still closed on Friday by protesting oil guards waiting for their salaries to be transferred, a spokesman for the operating company said on Friday. Hariga is run by the Arabian Gulf Oil Company, a state-owned subsidiary of National Oil Corp (NOC). The spokesman said that funds to cover the salaries had been transferred by the Ministry of Finance to NOC, but still needed to be transferred to the Petroleum Facilities Guards for distribution to its employees. The port was shut down at the beginning of last week. Two oil tankers have been waiting to load since then. (Reporting by Ahmed Elumami; Editing by Pravin Char)

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

A second tanker has berthed at Libya's eastern Hariga port to load oil from its storage tanks since it reopened under a deal between the government and protesters, an oil official said on Tuesday. The port, located in Tobruk near the border with Egypt, is one of four export terminals to restart work as part of the agreement to end the blockade. "Hariqa port received today the second shipment and the loading process of 850,000 barrels will start within hours and will finish tomorrow," port terminal manager Rajab Abdulrasoul told Reuters. A first tanker had loaded around 900,000 barrels. State-run National Oil Corp (NOC) on Monday lifted force majeure, a contractual waiver, on the port of Zueitina. It is unclear when the first tanker will arrive there.

Technical problems have delayed the reopening of Libya's eastern Zueitina oil export terminal after the government reached a deal with rebels to end an eight-month blockade of the port, a minister said on Sunday. Two weeks ago, the Tripoli government reached an agreement with rebels in the restive east to end their occupation of four oil ports which had halted vital exports. Under the plan, the Hariga and Zueitina ports were due to open immediately while the larger Ras Lanuf and Es Sider terminals would resume oil exports within a month. But justice minister Salah al-Merghani said Hariga port located in Tobruk in the far east would be the only one to start operations due to technical problems at Zueitina.

Technical problems have delayed the reopening of Libya's eastern Zueitina oil export terminal after the government reached a deal with rebels to end an eight-month blockade of the port, a minister said on Sunday. Two weeks ago, the Tripoli government reached an agreement with rebels in the restive east to end their occupation of four oil ports which had halted vital exports. Under the plan, the Hariga and Zueitina ports were due to open immediately while the larger Ras Lanuf and Es Sider terminals would resume oil exports within a month. But justice minister Salah al-Merghani said Hariga port located in Tobruk in the far east would be the only one to start operations due to technical problems at Zueitina.

Activity in the Russian Urals crude market froze on Tuesday as traders said they were awaiting the first loading dates for May for signs of how much supplies from the world's top oil producer could fall next month. Traders said they anticipated lower exports from Russia in May as several major domestic refineries were set to end their maintenance works. The Urals swaps market showed expectations for prices to strengthen in May to around dated Brent minus $1 per barrel, some 30-40 cents stronger than current price estimates. Traders also spoke about a physical deal being done in the Baltic on Tuesday for a cargo of Urals at dated Brent minus $1.30 a barrel, a notch stronger than prices on Monday, but that could not be verified.

China exports fall for 2nd straight month in March, while U.S. crude stocks rise, at a record on the Gulf coast (EIA). Libya's oil guards take control of Hariga port, Zueitina pending and OPEC sees lower demand for its crude in 2014. Separately, Brent to fall to $107.17. Oil prices slipped towards $107 a barrel on Thursday as weaker data from China and OPEC stoked concerns that growth in global oil demand was easing while markets watched for elusive evidence of a resumption in Libyan exports. Chinese exports unexpectedly fell for a second straight month in March and imports dropped sharply, intensifying expectations of weaker manufacturing and slowing growth in the world's No. 2 economy. Crude imports fell to a five-month low, but rose 2 percent on last year.

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.

An oil tanker is due to load 1 million barrels of crude on Tuesday from Libya's recently reopened Hariga port, its first export shipment after a deal to end months of closures at its key terminals, the National Oil Corp. (NOC) said. The tanker is due to take its load to Italy, the NOC quoted an oil official as saying in a statement on its website. NOC was able to lift force majeure on Hariga last week. Federalist rebels are still in control of the OPEC exporter's two largest terminals.   Reporting by Lin Noueihed

North Sea Forties crude differentials firmed on Tuesday as traders eyed two potential VLCC shipments to Asia, though gains were capped as the first cargo of Libyan crude was set to load since a deal with rebels to reopen ports. Traders have been watching the progress of two VLCCs - the BW Utah and the Phoenix Vanguard, both of which have been in the frame for arbitrage shipments of Forties to South Korea. The BW Utah left Hound Point on Monday bound for Rotterdam, according to traders and ship tracking data.