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.
Eastern Libyan Commander's Forces Seize Key Oil Ports
Oil port attacks risk sparking wider conflict; Libya crude output hovering around 200,000 bpd. Forces loyal to east Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar on Sunday seized at least two key oil ports from a rival force loyal to the U.N.-backed government, risking a new conflict over the OPEC nation's resources. Ahmed al-Mismari, a spokesman for Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), said its fighters had full control of Es Sider, Ras Lanuf, Brega and Zueitina after launching an early morning military operation on the eve of the Muslim holiday of Eid.
Libyan Deal to End Oil Ports Blockade Needs Signing
Libyan Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) commander Ibrahim Jathran said on Monday he was ready to end a blockade at key oil terminals, but the U.N.-backed government still needs to sign an agreement for exports to resume. The PFG has been demanding payment of workers' wages as part of any deal to end the blockade of Ras Lanuf, Es Sider and Zueitina. Details of the negotiations have not been made public. A deal was thrown into doubt when the head of Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) in Tripoli, Mustafa Sanalla, wrote to the U.N.
Libya's PFG to Lift Terminal Blockades
Petroleum Facilities Guard has blocked terminals for months. Ras Lanuf, Es Sider terminals damaged by fighting. Libya's Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) will start lifting a blockade on eastern oil terminals over the next three days, though a resumption of exports will depend on the state of the ports, a spokesman said on Friday. The PFG, which protects Libya's oil terminals and fields, has blockaded the major eastern terminals of Ras Lanuf, Es Sider and Zueitina for months, and promises earlier this year to reopen them have so far come to nothing.
Libya Govt in Talks to Reopen Two Major Oil Ports
Libya's U.N.-backed government in Tripoli is in negotiations with an armed brigade controlling two main oil ports to reopen the terminals and lift a force majeure to restart exports, a member of its ruling council said on Monday. Libya's oil industry has been battered by conflict among rival armed factions who control quasi-fiefdoms in a challenge to successive governments, and also by attacks by Islamic State militants which has expanded in the chaos. The Tripoli statement follows positive remarks about reopening the ports from Ibrahim Jathran…
Libya Outlines Ambitious Plans to Restore Oil Output
Libya's National Oil Corporation has ambitious plans to restore output to pre-2011 levels after years of violence and disruption, officials said. Oil output is now less than a quarter of the 1.6 million barrels per day Libya pumped before Muammar Gaddafi fell in 2011, and the National Oil Corporation (NOC) in Tripoli hopes to ramp it up swiftly with the backing of a new unity government. Full recovery could take years because of shutdowns by disgruntled workers, political rivalry and attacks by Islamic State militants.
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.
Libyan Rebel Refuses to Hand Over Oil Ports
A former Libyan rebel leader, who seized oil ports in the past to campaign for eastern autonomy, said he had turned down an offer to join an armed group challenging the internationally-recognized government. The loyalty of Ibrahim Jathran to the government is key to ensure that three oil ports accounting for at least 500,000 barrels of days of exports in eastern Libya will stay open. He had closed with thousands of supporters the ports in summer 2013 to press for regional autonomy…
Libyan port rebels reject rival parliament, honour oil deal
A group of rebels campaigning for autonomy in eastern Libya rejects the parliament set up by another armed group in Tripoli but will honour a deal to keep major oil ports open, a rebel spokesman said on Wednesday. Libya's oil output has risen to 725,000 barrels a day, more than six times the level two months ago, after the rebels agreed with the central government to end a blockade of four oil ports in the east. Since that deal, the OPEC producer has been thrown into…
Libya's Oil Industry Vulnerable to Protests
Libya's oil industry hopes life will return to normal now that a wave of protests has ebbed, but it will take months to ramp up production and more unrest is in prospect as political chaos spreads in the North African country. A group of eastern rebels agreed last week to clear two major ports they had seized almost a year ago in a drive for regional autonomy. Together with the freeing of the southern El Sharara oilfield, where a separate group has ended a blockade of its own…
Libya Oil Guards Protest at Hariga Port, Disrupt Operations
A brigade from Libya's Petroleum Facilities Guard has been protesting at the country's Hariga port to demand salary payments and disrupting operations there, an official from state-run oil company AGOCO said on Tuesday. The official said the protest was interrupting work at the port, where full storage tanks have forced a stoppage of production at Sarir oilfield and a reduction at Messla oilfield. "The production of Sarir oilfield is zero because it has been closed as storage at Hariga oil port is full," a spokesman for state-run oil firm AGOCO said.
Libyan Rebels Reject Talks With PM, Keep Oil Ports Shut
Rebels occupying major oil ports in eastern Libya said on Wednesday they would boycott Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeq and keep two major export terminals shut for now, a blow to efforts to restore vital oil exports. The rebels even warned they would take action if Tripoli did not fulfil its part of a recent agreement to reopen the oil ports, a veiled threat to close the terminals again. "Nothing has been implemented," said Abd-Rabbo al-Barassi, self-declared prime minister of the rebel movement.
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.
UPDATE: After Deal, Libya's Ports Prep to Load Oil Tankers
ZUEITINA PORT, Libya/TRIPOLI, April 7 - Libya's Zueitina oil port prepared on Monday to load crude into tankers after the government reached a deal with rebels to reopen four terminals that insurgents have occupied since the summer. The federalist rebels agreed on Sunday to end gradually their eight-month blockade of Zueitina, Hariga, Ras Lanuf and Es Sider ports, which account for around 700,000 barrels per day of the OPEC country's crude exports. Brent crude fell $1.47 to a low of $105.25 per barrel before recovering to $105.72 by 1256 GMT…
Libya's Ports Prepare to Load Oil Tankers
Libya's Zueitina oil port prepared on Monday to load crude on tankers after the government reached a deal with rebels to reopen four terminals that insurgents have occupied since summer. The federalist rebels agreed on Sunday to end gradually their eight-month blockade of Zueitina, Hariga, Ras Lanuf and Es Sider ports, which account for around 700,000 barrels per day of the OPEC country's crude exports. Brent crude fell $1.47 to a low of $105.25 per barrel before recovering to $105.72 by 1256 GMT…
W.Africa Crude-Traders on Sidelines
West African oil differentials were unchanged on Friday, with traders on the sidelines as they assessed the impact of lower North Sea supply and awaited a clearer outlook for Libyan exports. The supply of North Sea crude that underpins the Brent benchmark will average 774,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May, according to loading schedules provided by trade sources on Friday, down from April. This was seen putting upward pressure on Nigerian differentials because oil from the two regions competes for customers.
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.
Brent steady, holds above $108 as Ukraine crisis worsens
U.S. crude stocks likely rose 2.2 mln barrels last week. Brent futures were steady on Tuesday and held above $108 a barrel as a worsening crisis over Ukraine stoked supply disruption fears, while concerns over demand growth from the world's two biggest oil consumers kept a lid on gains. In the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War, Russia said the United States had spurned an invitation to hold new talks on resolving the Ukraine crisis, the latest instance of attempts of finding a diplomatic solution stalling.
