LONDON/GENEVA: Libya’s crude oil exports have shrunk to just over 10 percent of capacity from three ports, out of a possible nine, as armed groups have tightened their grip on its major industry.
Exports are down to only around 145,000 barrels per day, compared with a capacity of close to 1.25m b/d, according to one industry source with close ties to Libya. The cut in supply from the Opec member has helped push up international oil prices in recent weeks.
Oil Minister Abdelbari Al Arusi this week blamed mainly non-oil workers and agitators pushing for regional autonomy in Libya for the strikes, which he said had cost the country $2bn in lost revenue so far. The closure of Libya’s two largest oil terminals at the end of July, Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, started the worst outage since the civil war in 2011.
The two ports have been closed for about a month now by armed security guards, who previously protected the sites.
Buyers of Libya crude oil are only able to load now from the Bouri and Al Jurf offshore platforms and the Marsa Al Brega port in the east, which resumed exports at the weekend.
Loadings from the western Zawiya terminal, which has a capacity of up to 230,000 b/d, were halted earlier this week, several trading and shipping sources said yesterday.
An armed group blocked pipeline flows from the El Sharara and El Feel fields in the south to the Zawiya and Mellitah terminals, late on Monday.
Reuters
