Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) suspended shipments from two key eastern ports, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
On Tuesday, the state-owned company informed several trading and shipping firms of the force majeure restrictions at Es Sider and Ras Lanuf. These are the country’s largest and third-biggest export terminals respectively.
Libya’s crude production has halved since mid-April to roughly 600,000 barrels a day, according to Bloomberg estimates. Loadings from Ras Lanuf this month have been revised down to 1.8 million barrels from a previous plan of 3 million barrels, according to a program seen by Bloomberg.
The move came a day after the NOC said it was considering declaring a state of force majeure “within the next 72 hours, unless production and shipping are resumed at the oil ports in the Gulf of Sirte.”
It called on all parties, “to allow oil to flow, and not to be dragged behind calls for escalation.”
“We are facing a recurring reality, there are closures in the Gulf of Sirte region, and there are those who are trying to demonize the oil sector in Tripoli. But we will not stand idly by and we will address them in accordance with the legal frameworks,” NOC’s Chairman, Mustafa Sanalla said.
“The government is responsible for the sovereignty of its institutions. No tolerance should be accepted by any individual, minister, or anyone who politicizes the oil sector and uses it as a tool for any negotiations, bargaining, or settlements,” he added.
He said the situation is “very serious,” as the continued and regular operation of vital facilities from power plants, drinking water desalination, and strategic factories are conditionally linked to the continuation of oil production.
“The rates of oil exports have decreased in a way that we cannot meet the demand for fuel in the coming weeks,” Sanalla concluded.