Libyan Oil Revenues Fall to Zero as Ports Blocked
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)…
NOC Condemns Calls for Oil Export Terminals to be Shut
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…
NOC Declares Force Majeure on Biggest Oilfield
Libya's National Oil Company (NOC) on Monday declared force majeure on exports from the El Sharara oilfield, which was seized at the weekend by a local militia group.NOC said the shutdown would result in a production loss of 315,000 barrels per day (bpd) at its biggest oilfield, and an additional loss of 73,000 bpd at the El Feel oilfield.Production at the Zawiya refinery was also at risk due to its dependence on crude oil supply from Sharara, NOC said in a statement, adding that it was "reviewing" evacuation plans.Chairman Mustafa Sanalla NOC would not negotiate with the militia group.
Gunmen Attack Headquarters of Libya's State Oil Firm
Several armed men attacked the headquarters of Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) in the capital Tripoli on Monday, killing at least two oil staff, a security official said.In the first attack of its kind against the top managers of Libya's state oil industry, two of the gunmen were also killed and at least 10 NOC staff wounded, officials said.Security forces said they had regained control of the landmark glass-fronted building in the centre of the city.The attack came less than a week after a fragile truce halted fierce clashes between rival armed groups in Tripoli…
Libya's Oil Output Down Sharply in 2018
Libya's national oil production fell to 527,000 barrels per day (bpd) from a high of 1.28 million bpd in February following recent oil port closures, the head of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said in a statement on Monday.The NOC had not previously stated how high the country's production had climbed after partially recovering to more than 1 million bpd a year ago.In the video statement dated July 8 the chairman of Tripoli-based NOC, Mustafa Sanalla, said the Feb. 23 closure of the El Feel oilfield due to protests led to the loss of 80…
Libya's Internationally Recognized Government Pans Oil Port Decision
Libya's internationally recognised government said on Tuesday that a decision by rival forces to hand eastern oil ports to a National Oil Corporation based in the east would increase tension and deepen division in the North African nation. "Such actions increase tension and anger and do not serve the path of consensus or lead in any way towards reconciliation, but establish disunity and engrain division," the Tripoli-based government said in a statement. Reporting by Ahmed Elumami
Libya's NOC to Stage Oil and Gas Conference in Benghazi
Libya's state oil company National Oil Corp (NOC) will hold a conference in the eastern city of Benghazi in October to discuss the country's oil and gas sector, it said on Thursday. Domestic and foreign oil companies would participate to discuss the sector's development, NOC said in a statement on its website without naming any companies involved. The event will take place Oct. 9-11. Security has improved in Benghazi since forces allied to the eastern-based government declared victory over Islamist fighters last year, though two suicide bombings struck the port city recently.
Libya Crude Pipeline Repair to Span One Week
The repair of a Libyan crude pipeline, blown up on Tuesday, will take about one week, the head of Libyan state oil firm NOC told Reuters on Wednesday. "This will not have a major effect in the marketing program, only a little change," Mustafa Sanallah said in a written response to questions mailed by his media office. "It is estimated that the repair will take about one week from today. The damage is estimated as 30 to 35 meters of a 24 (inch) pipeline," he said. Reporting by Ahmed Elumami
Libya's Sharara Oilfield Open, Force Majeure Lifted
Libya's Sharara oilfield reopened on Tuesday following a three-day shutdown after a pipeline valve was closed, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said in a statement. The NOC said it had also lifted force majeure on loadings of Sharara crude from Zawiya oil terminal. Sharara is Libya's biggest field and has been pumping up to 280,000 barrels per day (bpd) in recent weeks. The field has been affected by repeated shutdowns because of protests by armed groups and oil workers. The NOC said the closure had occurred at valve 17 on the pipeline leading from Sharara to Zawiya. It did not say where the valve is.
Libyan NOC Official Warns of Force Majeure at Oil Ports as Rivals Mobilize
A senior official at Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) warned on Monday of a possible declaration of force majeure at the Es Sider and Ras Lanuf oil terminals, as air strikes continued and rival forces mobilized fighters in the area. NOC board member Jadalla Alaokali said force majeure, a legal waiver for contractual obligations, would "likely" be declared if violence continued, though he gave no timeframe. Libya's eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) lost control of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf to a rival faction, the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB), 10 days ago.
Libya: Air Strikes Aimed to Regain Oil Ports
East Libyan forces carried out air strikes around major oil ports on Saturday as they sought to regain control of the area from a rival faction, a military spokesman said. The eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) and allied forces retreated on Friday from Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, two of Libya's largest export terminals, as a faction known as the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB) attacked. The prospect of a renewed escalation of violence around the ports puts at risk the big rise in oil production achieved after the LNA took over four ports in September.
Armed faction enters major Libyan oil port
An armed faction entered a major Libyan oil terminal and a nearby airport on Friday, after attacking forces that have controlled the terminals since September, officials and residents said. The terminals at Es Sider and Ras Lanuf are two of Libya's largest, with potential combined production capacity of about 600,000 barrels per day (bpd). The new uncertainty over their status could be a blow to Libya's hopes of further reviving its oil production. It was unclear who controlled the ports late on Friday.
Pipeline Leading to Libyan Oil Fields Reopens
A military faction has reopened the valve on a pipeline leading to the major western Libyan oil fields of Sharara and El Feel after two years of blockades, a spokesman said on Thursday. "The Rayana valve that was closed in 2014 was reopened on Wednesday," said Mohamed Al-Gurj, a spokesman for a Petroleum Facilities Guard faction in Rayana, a town on the pipeline route to Libya's northern coast. It was not clear if the opening of the valve would allow any rapid resumption of production at El Feel and Sharara, which have a combined output of more than 350,000 barrels per day (bpd).
Newly Pumped Crude Leaves Reopened Libyan Port of Ras Lanuf
A tanker left the Libyan port of Ras Lanuf on Monday carrying the first freshly produced crude oil to be exported since the terminal reopened in September, a port official said. The tanker shipped 600,000 barrels and a second tanker was due to dock at Ras Lanuf shortly, the official said. Ras Lanuf is one of four ports that forces loyal to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar seized in September. Three had been blockaded by a rival faction. The National Oil Corporation (NOC) reopened them and the first export cargo for about two years was shipped from Ras Lanuf in late September.
Libya Exports First Oil Cargo From Ras Lanuf Since 2014
An oil tanker left the Libyan port of Ras Lanuf for Italy early on Wednesday with the first crude export cargo from the terminal since at least late 2014, boosting hopes of reviving Libya's battered oil output. The port manager of Ras Lanuf said a second tanker was preparing to load at the terminal, one of four seized on Sept. 11-12 by eastern Libyan forces loyal to military leader Khalifa Haftar. Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) has welcomed a promise by Haftar's forces to allow the NOC to control the ports.
Libya's NOC Calls for End to Western Oil Pipeline Blockades
Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) called on Monday for the reopening of pipelines from major oil fields in the south west of the country. Last week the NOC said it would restart exports from the eastern "Oil Crescent" ports of Es Sider, Ras Lanuf and Zueitina, which were seized on Sept. 11-12 by forces loyal to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar. NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla has said he hopes developments at the Oil Crescent ports could herald a breakthrough in efforts to revive production across the country.
Libya Oil Guards Say Closed Two Oilfields over Payment Delays
A Libyan armed force controlling some of the country's southern oilfields has stopped pumping at two of them because the government has not paid the funds needed to maintain security operations, a brigade commander said on Tuesday. The closures underscore the new Libyan government's complex task in reviving oil production, which has been battered by strikes, protests and Islamist militant attacks since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in the 2011 uprising. Commander Mohammad Ahmad Alkhbasha told Reuters the Petroleum Facilities Guards' southern brigade had shut the Gulf field and the Al Wafa field…
Libya Oil Guards to Close Two Oilfields
A Libyan armed force controlling some of the country's southern oilfields will close two of them down because the government has not paid the funds needed to maintain security operations, a brigade commander said on Tuesday. The closure underscored the new Libyan government's complex task in reviving oil production, which has been battered by strikes, protests and Islamist militant attacks since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in the 2011 uprising. A spokesman for the state-run National Oil Corporation was not immediately available to confirm the closures.
Libya Government, Oil Guards Reach Deal to Reopen Ports
Libya's U.N.-backed government has signed a deal with an armed brigade controlling the major Ras Lanuf and Es Sider oil ports to end a blockade and restart exports from the terminals shut down since December 2014. Reopening the ports would be a huge step for the North African state, which since the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi has slipped into chaos that has cut its oil output to less than a quarter of pre-2011 levels of 1.6 million barrels per day. No specific date was set for restarting exports…
Libyan Oil Exports to Resume from Closed Ports
Libyan oil exports from closed ports should resume in no more than one to two weeks after a deal was signed between the government and an armed brigade controlling the terminals, President Council member Mousa Alkouni told Reuters on Friday. "I think the resumption depends now on technical part... and I think too it will happen from a week to two weeks, but not more," he said. He said the agreement included payment of salaries to oil guards controlling the ports. Ras Lanuf and Es Sider…
