U.S. oil company Hess attempts to load crude from Libya’s Es Sider port

Libya’s National Oil Company (NOC) said earlier this week that a warship had been staying at the Ras Lanuf oil terminal, adding that its oil terminals remain out of service.

Now, Hess said it may attempt to load a cargo of crude oil from Libya’s Es Sider port. If successful, the loading represents a glimmer of hope for oil-rich Libya who has had its oil production brought down to just 100,000 barrels per day amid port closures as a result of the civil unrest, from 1.2 million bpd at the start of the year. It has not exported any oil since January.

NOC declared a force majeure on Libya’s oil ports (including Es Sider), after the LNA blockaded the ports.

Libya’s oil industry is also battling a wave of COVID-19 infections. The outbreak has caused two NOC affiliates to send workers home and halt some work.

At the end of August, unnamed sources suggested that two tankers were set to load oil for export at Libya’s Brega port—one of which was headed to Austrian’s OMV. It is unclear whether those shipments are still on the books.

For more information visit noc.ly

14th September 2020