Category: Libya

Two Libyan oil fields resumed deliveries to a key refinery in the country following a court order on political stability, two state energy companies said. State-owned National Oil. Co. said production resumed at the southern El-Feel field. Authorities at Sirte Oil confirmed oil was flowing from the Zilten oil field in the east of the country, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. Libyan oil production has slumped considerably from its pre-war peak of about 1.4 million barrels per day. Oil output has suffered amid internal political rivalries in a country working to rebound from years of dictatorship under Moammar Gadhafi . Resumption of production from the two fields follows a court order that shot down the election of Ahmed Miitig as the next prime minister. Acting Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani refused to recognize the Islamist leader’s appointment. El-Feel and Zilten combine for around 60,000 barrels of oil per day […]

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At least four people have been killed in clashes in Benghazi between forces loyal to the former general Khalifa Haftar and fighters he has declared as "terrorists". At least 14 people were also wounded in Sunday’s fighting, Reuters news agency reported, as fighting prompted dozens of families to flee the port in the latest bout of violence to hit the country. "There are now heavy clashes in Sidi Faraj and al-Hawari [in western Benghazi]. Our forces are attacking with tanks and rocket launchers," Haftar’s spokesman Mohamed el-Hejazi said. The sound of heavy weapons fire could be heard on the streets of  Sidi Faraj, and families were fleeing affected areas, witnesses said.  Electricity was cut to a large part of the city, with state news agency LANA saying a rocket fire had hit a power station, and that technicians were trying to restore power. Haftar has declared war against groups including Ansar al-Sharia […]

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At least four people have been killed in clashes in Benghazi between forces loyal to the former general Khalifa Haftar and fighters he has declared as "terrorists". At least 14 people were also wounded in Sunday’s fighting, Reuters news agency reported, as fighting prompted dozens of families to flee the port in the latest bout of violence to hit the country. "There are now heavy clashes in Sidi Faraj and al-Hawari [in western Benghazi]. Our forces are attacking with tanks and rocket launchers," Haftar’s spokesman Mohamed el-Hejazi said. The sound of heavy weapons fire could be heard on the streets of  Sidi Faraj, and families were fleeing affected areas, witnesses said.  Electricity was cut to a large part of the city, with state news agency LANA saying a rocket fire had hit a power station, and that technicians were trying to restore power. Haftar has declared war against groups including Ansar al-Sharia […]

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It’s possible Libyan oil production could more than double to 700,000 barrels per day within the next two months, a Libyan delegate to OPEC said Wednesday. Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Counties met Wednesday in Vienna for a regular conference. Libyan envoy to OPEC Samir Salem Kamal said if major oil fields closed by labor strikes and protests are brought back online, production could increase from the current rate of around 200,000 bpd. "Libya could get to 700,000 bpd in two months," he said . The envoy said negotiations were ongoing in an effort to bring closed fields back into production. The Libyan National Oil Corp. lifted a state of emergency at operations at the eastern Zueitina oil terminal earlier this year. It was in the control of forces vying for more autonomy in the region. Internal conflicts in Libya have spilled over into […]

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Air strikes have hit three areas of the Libyan city of Benghazi, shortly after reports emerged of a ceasefire deal between former general Khalifa Haftar and a government crisis committee. The strikes on Tuesday took place in the western part of the city, which has been targeted in the past by troops loyal to Haftar.  Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Tripoli, said that the airstrikes lasted for at least thirty minutes. A source close to the armed group Ansar al-Sharia told Al Jazeera that the group had given Haftar supporters 72 hours, ending Tuesday, to leave the Benina area of Benghazi, close to the airport. Earlier, sources in the Government Crisis Managing Committee, which includes tribal elders, the minister of justice and various brigades in Benghazi, told Al Jazeera that a truce deal had been reached with Haftar, a claim denied by Mohamed Hejazi, Haftar’s spokesperson. However, Reuters quoted Hejazi saying […]

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The Libyan government estimates crude oil exports are below 200,000 barrels per day because of ongoing internal political issues. The government said oil exports from the state-run National Oil Co. were 24.2 million barrels of oil for first quarter 2014. While on average, the rate is more than 200,000 bpd, the government said lingering stalemates with federalists pushed the recent daily rate even lower. Optimism over a rebound in the Libyan oil sector increased in April when the NOC announced it lifted an emergency declaration on oil operations at its Zueitina terminal in the east of the country, where anti-government forces have control. John Kingston , director of news operations for the Platts energy reporting agency, told Voice of America it appears Libyan oil exports have all but stopped and there is "no good news" coming from a nation that once produced about 1.6 million bpd. […]

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Libya’s top court on Monday rejected the Islamist-led parliament’s appointment of a new prime minister in a contested vote, ending one power struggle as a renegade general’s offensive against Islamist militias in the east rages on. The Supreme Constitutional Court declared Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteg’s appointment unconstitutional, but gave no further details or instructions. Islamists in parliament and Maiteg said they would abide by the decision, thus leaving interim Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni in office. The top U.N. envoy to Libya called the decision and promises to abide by it "a sign of hope." "This will not solve the political crisis but at least it would open the way forward towards a resumption of a normal political process," Tarek Mitri told reporters after briefing the U.N. Security Council in New York. Al-Thinni refused to give up his office after last month’s vote in parliament, which […]

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Libya’s top court on Monday rejected the Islamist-led parliament’s appointment of a new prime minister in a contested vote, ending one power struggle as a renegade general’s offensive against Islamist militias in the east rages on. The Supreme Constitutional Court declared Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteg’s appointment unconstitutional, but gave no further details or instructions. Islamists in parliament and Maiteg said they would abide by the decision, thus leaving interim Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni in office. The top U.N. envoy to Libya called the decision and promises to abide by it "a sign of hope." "This will not solve the political crisis but at least it would open the way forward towards a resumption of a normal political process," Tarek Mitri told reporters after briefing the U.N. Security Council in New York. Al-Thinni refused to give up his office after last month’s vote in parliament, which […]

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Libya has much of the world’s highest quality crude oil. But since the fall of long-time leader Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, production has been sporadic and on the decline. After assessing Libya’s political instability, violence and armed groups battling for control, John Kingston summed up prospects for the country’s oil industry this way: "There’s essentially no good news there." Kingston is director of news for Platts, which provides information on the global energy, petrochemical, metals and agriculture industries. He said during Gadhafi’s rule, Libya produced about 1.6-million barrels a day. "Their quality of crude is extremely high. So, for production of transportation fuels, like gasoline and diesel, if you lose a barrel out of Libya, you have to produce more than a barrel of heavier crude somewhere else to make up for it. Not all barrels are alike. And a Libyan barrel is more equal than […]

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Against the backdrop of a rising sun and an imposing lion, renegade Libyan general Khalifa Haftar strides over rugged terrain in combat fatigues and black boots. The propaganda imagery on Haftar’s Facebook page is part of his bid to rally the nation against Islamist militias in Libya’s east and their political allies in the capital, Tripoli. It borrows from that employed by Egypt ’s soldier-turned-president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who overthrew an elected Islamist leader before securing power at the ballot box. If Haftar harbors similar ambitions, his will be a far harder task. Three of his guards were killed in an assassination attempt in the eastern town of Abiyar, SkyNews Arabia TV channel reported today, giving no further details. Successive Libyan governments have failed to unify the forces that removed Muammar Qaddafi from power three years ago, with the chaos halting the recovery of crude output in the North […]

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