The Libyan National Army has retaken the key eastern oil terminals of Ras Lanuf and Es Sider that shut 450,000 b/d of crude production, the head of the state-owned National Oil Corp. said Friday. NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla disputed statements by militia leader Ibrahim Jadhran that the facilities were still under attack. “He tried to have legitimacy and we will not give him any legitimacy,” Sanalla told reporters before the OPEC meeting.
Sanalla said 450,000 b/d of Libyan production has been offline for “eight or nine days,” and he hoped it would restart in a “couple of days.” Libyan output was 950,000 b/d in May, before the armed clashes between rival militia groups at the terminals last week, according to the latest S&P Global Platts OPEC survey. NOC declared force majeure last week on loadings from Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, which had been set to load around 420,000 b/d in June. Ras Lanuf had five operational storage tanks, storing up to 950,000 barrels. The loss of the two tanks has reduced its total capacity by 400,000 barrels to just 550,000 barrels, NOC said Monday. Along with Brega and Zueitina, the Ras Lanuf and Es Sider terminals serve the Sirte basin, a collection of oil and gas fields in central and eastern Libya that account for around 650,000 b/d, roughly two thirds of the country’s production.