ZCZC
BCN-05
LIBYA-CONFLICT-OIL
Libya state oil company shuts terminal after attack
TRIPOLI, July 18, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Libya’s state oil company said on
Tuesday that it has halted crude exports at its Zawiya terminal due to
falling production after an attack in which four workers were kidnapped.
“National Oil Corporation has declared force majeure on crude oil loadings
at Zawiya port,” the NOC it said in a statement.
“This is a result of reduced production at Sharara following the recent
attack and kidnap of four Akakus company employees,” it said, adding that two
were later released.
The Sharara oil field, which is managed by Akakus, is a joint venture
between the NOC, Spain’s Repsol, Total of France, Austria’s OMV and Statoil
of Norway.
It is one of the largest oil facilities in Libya, producing 270,000 barrels
a day.
Force majeure is a legal measure that frees a company from contractual
obligations due to circumstances beyond its control.
The NOC said it had evacuated and shut down station 186 — where the four
oil workers were kidnapped — and evacuated two others.
Field production had been limited to 125,000 bpd, which it said was enough
to meet the requirements of the Zawiya refinery, but “leaving no excess crude
for export”.
“Employee safety is always our first priority. This incident required us to
shut down and evacuate a number of stations,” said NOC chairman Mustafa
Sanalla.
“We have to prioritise local demand for fuel. For the time being all
Sharara production will go to the refinery.”
On Monday, during a protest outside the NOC’s headquarters in Tripoli,
Sanalla called on tribes in the south of the country to release two
employees, including a Romanian national.
Libya’s economy relies heavily on oil, with production at 1.6 million
barrels per day under former dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
Kadhafi’s 2011 ouster saw production fall to about 20 percent of that
level, before recovering to more than one million barrels per day by the end
of 2017.
OPEC has estimated Libya’s oil reserves at 48 billion barrels, which makes
them the biggest in Africa.
BSWS/AFP/HR/0950