On Monday, the Libyan oil export terminals in ports like Hariga, Brega, Ras Lanuf, and Es Sider were closed due to bad weather, according to port sources.
In a statement, the head of navigation at the Zueitina and Brega oil ports, Ahmed Bashir, said that the terminals located in Libya’s oil crescent will remain closed until tomorrow evening. He pointed out that there are a number of oil tankers waiting to dock at the ports.
The conflict-wracked country has surprised global oil markets in the past two months by ramping up production that had been idle since the start of the year.
At the beginning of December, it was reported that Libya was producing 1.3 million barrels of oil per day — enough to concern policymakers at OPEC, of which Libya is a member.
Libya’s surging oil exports were cited as one of the reasons OPEC+ moderated the terms of a planned increase of 2 million bpd, at its most recent meeting. Libya had been exempted from OPEC+ quota arrangements while the conflict raged there, but its comeback as an oil exporter threatens to upset OPEC+ calculations.
Notably, Libya’s resurgent oil supplies are facing a new threat amid a standoff between rival factions in the country’s financial establishment. A row over control of the Libyan Foreign Bank (LBF) — the body charged with receiving money from oil sales and transferring the proceeds to the country’s central bank — threatens to block receipt of oil revenues and bring production to a standstill once more.