On Saturday, a Chinese-flagged oil tanker, Nessos Koufunci, docked at Hariga oil port, which is operated by the Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO), in Tobruk. It is set to export a million barrels of crude oil to China.
In press statements, an official source at the Hariga port said that this is the first cargo of Libyan crude oil in December.
He added that today’s production from Hariga oil port the Masala and Sarir fields has reached 215,000 barrels, through a 513-kilometer-long, 34-inch diameter pipeline.
The source confirmed that the shipping and export operations are carried out according to the precautionary measures, to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. As well as to preserve the environment, which is one of the company’s most important priorities.
In the monthly oil market report issued by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Libya topped the list of oil producers in Africa during October. The report added that Libya’s production increased by 6,000 barrels per day (bpd).
Libya topped the list with 1.163 million bpd, followed by Angola with a record of 1.067 million bpd, Algeria with 1.060 million bpd, while Nigeria’s oil production amounted to 1.024 million bpd.
According to the report, Libya succeeded Nigeria, which is producing far below its average of 1.493 million bpd in 2020, and 1.323 million in 2021.
Oil production decreased by 210,000 bpd during October 2022, to fall for the first time in five months. This is primarily due to a decline in supplies from Saudi Arabia and Angola, according to the OPEC+ agreement.
According to the monthly report, the total crude production by the 13 member states decreased to 29.494 million bpd in October, compared to 29.704 million bpd in September.
The decline comes as part of the OPEC + agreement to reduce supplies by 100,000 bpd in October. It also announced a new policy, early last month, aimed at reducing oil production by two million bpd from the beginning of November 2022, until December 2023.
Libya has been in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime leader Moammar Gaddafi in 2011. The county has for years been split between rival administrations, each backed by various militias and foreign governments.
The current stalemate grew out of the failure to hold elections in December, and the refusal of Prime Minister, Abdelhamid Al-Dbaiba to step down. In response, the country’s eastern-based Parliament appointed a rival Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha, who has for months sought to install his government in Tripoli.
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