Libya: Terminals Reopen, Instability Remains, Haftar Strengthened?

13 Jul 2018 Issue: 61 / 28

In a dramatic turnaround from little more than a week earlier, Tripoli-based National Oil Corporation (NOC) lifted force majeure on four key oil export terminals. This paves the way for an increase in production in the coming days, likely approaching year-to-date peaks of around 1mn b/d later in the month.

Force majeure has been lifted on the Es Sider, Ras Lanuf and Zueitina terminals on the Oil Crescent in the east of the country and the Hariga terminal in the far northeast. NOC announced on 11 July that preparation for the resumption of “production, maintenance and export operations” was under way at oil fields and ports.

The self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) returned authority over the four terminals to NOC earlier on 11 July having controversially handed control of them to an unofficial eastern NOC branch in the preceding weeks. Es Sider and Ras Lanuf had been under force majeure since 14 June following an attack on the terminals led by former Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) chief Ibrahim al-Jathran (MEES, 29 June). NOC declared force majeure on Hariga and Zueitina on 2 July after the LNA blockaded the terminals (MEES, 6 July). A fifth terminal, at Brega, was also crippled in early July due to a lack of spare crude storage capacity. (CONTINUED - 1561 WORDS)