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Tripoli Government News

18 Jul 2022

Libya Oil Chief says Full Output to Resume after Deal

Credit:Puchthanun/AdobeStock

Libyan oil output will resume from all shuttered fields and ports, the Tripoli government's newly installed head of National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Friday after meeting groups that have blockaded the facilities for months.The decision to lift force majeure on production could mean a return of 850,000 barrels per day (BPD) of oil to the market that has been shut off by the groups aligned with eastern commander Khalifa Haftar.Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah of the Government…

14 Jul 2022

Libya's Oil Chief Rejects Sacking, Says Govt Mandate Expired

NOC chief Mustafa Sanalla - Credit: NOC (file image)

The head of Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC) on Wednesday rejected the prime minister's authority to sack him, raising the prospect of an open struggle for control of the state energy producer.In a furious televised speech, Mustafa Sanalla said Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah's mandate to govern had expired and warned him not to touch NOC.An armed force deployed outside the NOC building later in the day, three witnesses said. One of them said the force was aligned with Dbeibah.

10 Feb 2020

Libyan Oil Revenues Fall to Zero as Ports Blocked

© Puchthanun / Adobe Stock

Libya's vital oil revenues fell to zero in January, the central bank said on Monday, after forces and tribesmen allied to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar blocked major oil ports.Haftar is embroiled in a conflict with the internationally recognized government in Tripoli and has been trying to seize the capital by force since April.Tribesmen and forces loyal to him closed all eastern ports and major fields last month in a power play, part of chaos in Libya since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.The oil shutdown has caused losses exceeding 2.5 billion Libyan dinar ($1.78 billion)…

17 Jan 2020

NOC Condemns Calls for Oil Export Terminals to be Shut

© Juozas55 / Adobe Stock

Libya's state oil firm NOC on Friday condemned calls to shut oil export terminals in eastern Libya controlled by military commander Khalifa Haftar ahead of a summit in Germany where he will face pressure to halt his campaign to take the capital.Tribal leaders in eastern and southern Libya called on Thursday to shut the terminals in protest at what they called the internationally-recognized government in Tripoli's use of oil revenues to pay for foreign fighters.Eastern Libya and part of the south of the country is controlled by the Libya National Army (LNA) of Haftar…

27 Jul 2017

Italy Mulls Deployments in Libyan Waters

Tripoli government invited Italy into its waters; some 600,000 boat migrants have come to Italy since 2014. Italy intends to deploy several ships in Libyan waters by the end of August to fight human trafficking and stem a flood of immigrants, a government source said on Thursday. A mission plan should be brought to the Cabinet for approval on Friday, and the necessary parliamentary vote to endorse it may be held next week, the source said. "The exact number of ships and sailors is still being worked out," said the source. If parliament approves, the mission might begin "by the end of August", he said. Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni met with military chiefs and ministers on Thursday to discuss "security, immigration and the Libyan situation", according to a statement.

24 Oct 2016

EU to Continue Libyan Coast Guard Training after Attack on Migrants

The European Union will go ahead with training for the Libyan coast guard this week, days after a coast guard vessel allegedly attacked a boat carrying migrants, causing four of them to drown. The German humanitarian group Sea-Watch recovered the four bodies after an attack on Friday that its members say was carried out by a vessel with the markings of the Libyan coast guard. "The aim was to start the training this week, and this week it will start," the spokesman for the EU's Operation Sophia, Antonello De Renzis Sonnino, told Reuters. The bodies of the four migrants reached Palermo, Sicily, on Monday aboard the Norwegian rescue vessel Siem Pilot, which carried 1,100 rescued migrants and 13 other bodies.

12 Sep 2016

Libyan Commander's Seizure of Oil Ports Risks New Conflict

Libyan forces loyal to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar said on Monday they had tightened their control over four major oil ports, casting a Western-backed project to unite Libya and revive oil exports into deep uncertainty. Haftar's forces met little resistance as they seized the terminals at Ras Lanuf, Es Sider, Zueitina and Brega in an operation launched on Sunday, displacing a rival armed faction aligned with the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli. The advance is the latest power struggle over the OPEC nation's energy assets, after the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi and the chaos that followed left the North African country splintered into competing rival armed factions.

31 May 2016

EU Ships in Libyan Waters Would Undermine Tripoli Govt

The U.N.-backed government in Libya has not invited European ships into its territorial waters to help stop people smuggling because this could harm efforts to broaden support for the fledgling government, its envoy to Rome said on Tuesday. Ahmed Elmabrouk Safar, ambassador to Rome for Fayaz Seraj's Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), told reporters foreign warships within sight of its coast "would not help Libyan stability". "Inviting foreign military and naval forces in Libyan waters could be seen as an important security-led step which might cut down on the number of people who are crossing over the Mediterranean, but would it help in unifying the country in the current phase?" the envoy said.

12 May 2016

Libya Requests Removal of Oil Tanker from U.N. Blacklist

Libya's mission to the United Nations has asked the Security Council to remove from a U.N. blacklist an Indian-flagged tanker that was recently prevented from shipping oil for the rival eastern Libyan government, Libya's U.N. envoy said on Thursday. The tanker Distya Ameya was blacklisted last month after the rival eastern government's parallel oil company attempted to use it to ship a cargo of 650,000 barrels of crude. The U.N. measure requires states to ban the ship from entering any port around the world. Libyan Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi told Reuters his mission had submitted an official request, though he did not know when the delisting might take effect. It will be up to the 15-nation council's Libya sanctions committee to make a decision.

01 May 2016

Blacklisted Tanker Returns to Libya's Zawiya Port

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.

09 Jul 2015

Libya Warns Tankers Away from Ras Lanuf Port

Libya's recognized government warned its security forces would seize any tankers approaching the Ras Lanuf terminal without permission, saying any attempt to make oil deals with the rival government in Tripoli would be "piracy". The warning over Ras Lanuf illustrates how the OPEC country's oil industry is caught up in a power struggle between the two rival governments and their armed forces, who have each appointed competing figures in the state oil company. The internationally recognised government and elected parliament has operated in the east since last year, when an armed faction called Libya Dawn took over the capital, set up its own government and took control of ministries in Tripoli.

09 Jul 2015

Ships Still at Risk in Libya Ports

The restructuring of port facilities in Libya will only take place when a unity government is in place, says British maritime security company MAST. “UN sponsored unity government negotiations appear to have stalled for now, with the Tripoli government withdrawing from the talks,” said Gerry Northwood OBE, COO of MAST. “These talks will be partly driven by the common interest in fighting ISIL, but achieving the level of agreement required to form a unity government is unlikely in the near term,” Northwood added. Northwood noted that it has been reported that the National Oil Company (NOC) has lifted the force majeure declared in December 2014 at Ras Lanuf Oil Terminal on the Gulf of Sidre. Once operational the facility could increase Libya’s oil exports by up to 300,000 bpd.

30 Mar 2015

Reopening Date of Libya Oil Ports Uncertain

It is too early to say when Libyan oil ports Es Sider and Ras Lanuf can reopen after a force loyal to a self-declared Tripoli government pulled out troops from frontlines near to the terminals, an oil official said on Monday. Security and technical checks needed to be conducted first, the official said, asking not to be named.   Reporting by Feras Bosalum

10 Feb 2015

Libya Reopens Oil Port After Strike

Libya reopened its oil port of Hariga on Tuesday, ending a strike by guards that had threatened to further slash exports as rival factions fight for control of the OPEC country. The threat to shut down Hariga underlined the fragility of oil shipments as two competing governments and their armed allies are locked in a scramble for territory and petroleum wealth. Hariga reopened shortly before the United Nations was expected to hold talks to prevent a wider conflict that Western governments fear will turn Libya into a failed state just across the Mediterranean from Europe. Libya shut most operations at the Hariga terminal near Egypt's border, the last functioning land oil export terminal, on Saturday after security guards prevented a tanker from docking in a protest over wage payments.

09 Feb 2015

Libya's Hariga Oil Port Shut Due to Strike

Libya's eastern oil export port Hariga shut down because of a strike over unpaid salaries of  security guards, closing the country's last functioning export port apart from two offshore fields. The closure will lower oil output to less than 300,000 barrels a day, a fraction of the 1.6 million Libya used to pump before the 2011 uprising toppling Muammar Gaddafi. The terminal near Tobruk, with a capacity of 120,000 b/d has by and large escaped disruption thanks to its easterly position. In particular it has been unaffected by the attempted seizure by Libya Dawn of the Sidra and Ras Lanuf oil terminals and facilities. However the port was closed on Saturday morning by striking security guards who complained they have not been paid.

06 Feb 2015

Port Battle Underscores Possible Libya Break-Up

Armed factions deploying heavy weapons. Peace talks making little progress. Hidden behind a pile of sand, a tank points its gun towards Libya's biggest oil port on the other side of an invisible frontier that now divides the north African nation. Factions fighting for control of Libya and its oil wealth have moved columns of heavy weapons to this new front line running through the middle of the country, escalating a conflict that Western powers fear may lead to a national break-up four years after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. In an attempt to prevent Libya from sliding into all-out civil war, the United Nations hopes in the coming days to resume peace negotiations between the warring parties…

03 Feb 2015

New Fighting for Libyan Oil Ports

New clashes erupted on Tuesday between rival factions fighting for control of Libya's biggest oil ports Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, killing at least 10 people, the two sides said. The fighting came a day after the United Nations said it was seeking a ceasefire to pave the way for a new round of peace talks between factions operating two opposing governments, nearly four years after Muammar Gaddafi's overthrow. Libya's internationally-recognised government under Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni and the elected House of Representatives have been based in the east since a group called Libya Dawn seized Tripoli last summer, set up its own administration and reinstated the old parliament.

27 Jan 2015

Libya Returns Fuel Tanker to Rival Government

Libya's recognized government has released a tanker forced to dock at a port under its control after originally banning it from delivering fuel to its rival administration, a port official said on Tuesday. War planes forced the tanker Anwaar Afriqya to sail to Tobruk after it had originally approached the port of Misrata, the air force commander for the recognized Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni said on Monday. Libya's recognized government has worked from a headquarters in the east of the country since the summer when rival forces under the banner Libya Dawn took over the capital Tripoli and installed their own self-proclaimed government.

26 Jan 2015

Libya Forces Tanker Away from Supplying Rival Government

Libya's recognized government said it forced a tanker from delivering fuel to its rival administration, diverting the vessel to its own territory by threatening an air attack on it. The tanker Anwaar Afriqya was approaching the port of Misrata, but diverted to Tobruk, a port official at the latter said on Monday. "Our planes are forcing an oil tanker to sail to Tobruk after it had been on the way first to Misrata," Saqer al-Joroushi, air force commander for recognized Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni, told state news agency Lana. Libya's recognized government works from a headquarters in the east of the country since the summer when rival forces under the banner Libya Dawn took over the capital Tripoli and installed their own self-proclaimed government.

15 Jan 2015

Libya Warplane Attacks Benghazi Bound Trawler

A Libyan warplane attacked a fishing trawler carrying gasoline to the port of Benghazi this week after the internationally recognised government suspected it of supplying Islamist militants, a military official said on Thursday. Libya's recognized government, which has been driven out of the capital, is locked in escalating conflit with a self-declared government of a faction known as Libya Dawn that seized Tripoli last summer. There were no details about the ownership or origin of the vessel which military official Mohamed Hejazi said was attacked on Tuesday off the coast of the eastern city of Benghazi, which has seen heavy fighting for months between pro-government forces and Islamist militants.

04 Jan 2015

Air Strikes on Port of Misrata

Forces loyal to Libya's internationally recognised government on Saturday staged air strikes on the commercial port of Misrata, a western city allied to a group that holds the capital Tripoli, both sides said. Fighting was also reported near the country's biggest oil export port located in the east, part of a struggle between troops loyal to two competing governments and parliaments. The internationally recognised prime minister Abdullah al-Thinni has been forced to run a rump state in the east since a group known as Libya Dawn linked to Misrata took control of Tripoli last August and set up a rival government. Saqer al-Joroushi, commander of an air force unit loyal to Thinni, said war planes had hit Misrata port and an air force academy located in the western city.

31 Dec 2014

Libya Containing Port Fire, Export Resumption in Question

Libya has made progress containing a fire at its largest oil port that has destroyed four days of the country's oil production but the damage to storage tanks will hamper efforts to resume exports, officials and industry insiders said. The fire at Es Sider, the country's main oil export terminal, has been blazing for a week and is a visible indication of the destructive violence that threatens to tear the country apart almost four years after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. The North African country is in the middle of a power struggle between two opposing governments -- the internationally recognised authorities in the east and rivals who have seized power in the capital -- that are vying for control of Africa's biggest oil reserves.

21 Apr 2014

Libyan Oil Port Re-Opening Delayed

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.