Category: North Africa

Hariga, an oil export port in Tobruk eastern Libya, has been shut down because of a security guard strike, a port official said, Al Arabiya reported Feb. 8. Hariga was the last functioning export port aside from two offshore fields. Before closing, it exported around 120,000 barrels per day. The guards went on strike the morning of Feb. 7, saying they had not been paid. Libya is in middle of a power struggle between two governments , and the effect on the oil industry has led to a budget crisis. Stratfor provides global awareness and guidance to individuals, governments and businesses around the world. We use a unique, intel-based approach to analyze world affairs. Copyright © 2015 Stratfor Global Intelligence, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 221 West 6th Street Suite 400 – Austin, TX 78701, USA unsubscribe from this list     update subscription preferences | forward email […]

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ENLARGE Firefighters worked to put out a fire at an oil-storage tank in the port of Sidra in January. Photo: Reuters The violence roiling Libya has increasingly targeted oil companies and their assets, upending long-term investments by Western companies and driving down production in a country that helped trigger the world-wide rout in oil prices. In short order, Libyan oil output has fallen to about 325,000 barrels a day in January from nearly 900,000 barrels a day in October, largely because of oil fields being taken over by Libyan militias or shutdowns due to security concerns, according to officials at the state-owned National Oil Co. The plunge in production comes after civil war broke out mid-2014, leading to two big closures at the end of the year. French major Total SA closed the Mabruk oil field in central Libya, a facility that once produced 30,000 to 40,000 barrels a […]

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(Bloomberg) — Libya’s Petroleum Facilities Guard restored control over an idled oil field captured on Tuesday by Islamist gunmen who were said to be seeking a source of funds in the politically divided North African country. The assailants took three Philippine workers as hostages in their retreat from al-Mabruk oil field, Ali al-Hasy, a spokesman for the guard, said by phone on Thursday. Of the 15 guards deployed at the site when it came under attack on Feb 3., two survived and 13 are missing, he said. The field, operated by Total SA as part of a joint venture with Libya’s state-run National Oil Corp., stopped pumping crude on Dec. 15 after an Islamist attack shut Es Sider, the country’s largest oil port and the export terminal for al-Mabruk. Libya’s oil production dropped to 300,000 barrels a day last month from a peak in 2013 of 1.4 million barrels, […]

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Dow Jones Newswires By Benoît Faucon And Georgi Kantchev The violence roiling Libya has increasingly targeted oil companies and their assets, upending long-term investments by Western companies and driving down production in a country that helped launch the world-wide rout in oil prices. In just three months, Libyan oil production has fallen from nearly 900,000 barrels a day in October to about 325,000 barrels a day in January, largely because of oil fields being taken over by armed Libyan groups or shutdowns due to security concerns, according to officials at the National Oil Co. The plunging output comes after civil war broke out mid-2014 and caused two big closures at the end of the year. French major Total SA closed the Mabruk oil field in central Libya, a facility that once produced 30,000 to 40,000 barrels a day. And the country’s main oil port, known as Sidra, was closed […]

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TRIPOLI, Libya — Attackers killed 12 people, among them two Filipinos and two Ghanaians, after storming a remote Libyan oil field, a Libyan official said Wednesday. “Most were beheaded or killed by gunfire,” said Abdelhakim Maazab, commander of a security force in charge of protecting the Mabruk oil field, about 100 miles south of the Mediterranean city of Surt. Mr. Maazab added that his men had regained control of the field, which used to pump 40,000 barrels a day but is not operating now. The French energy company Total has a stake in the site, but it is contracted to a Libyan company. The Filipinos worked for an Italian company, Sogepi S.r.l., according to a statement earlier Wednesday by the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs. It reported three of its citizens as among seven foreigners who had been “abducted by unidentified armed men.” With Libya in turmoil, details of […]

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New fighting for Libyan oil ports as UN tries to revive talks thumbnail New clashes erupted on Tuesday between rival factions fighting for control of Libya’s biggest oil ports Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, killing at least 10 people, the two sides said. The fighting came a day after the United Nations said it was seeking a ceasefire to pave the way for a new round of peace talks between factions operating two opposing governments, nearly four years after Muammar Gaddafi’s overthrow. Libya’s internationally-recognised government under Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni and the elected House of Representatives have been based in the east since a group called Libya Dawn seized Tripoli last summer, set up its own administration and reinstated the old parliament. Troops loyal to the Tripoli government launched an offensive in December to try to take the eastern Es Sider and Ras Lanuf oil ports, which have had […]

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Fighting between rival militias resumed close to Libya’s largest oil port on Tuesday, while Islamic State claimed another attack in Tripoli, as the country further descends into lawlessness. Islamic State’s Tripoli faction had already said it was behind an attack on the upmarket Corinthia hotel in the capital last week that killed nine people, including an American. Clashes erupted at the Sidra oil terminal between Dawn, an Islamist militia that controls the capital Tripoli, and forces loyal to the internationally recognized government based in the east of the country, according to the Facebook pages of both factions and Libyan oil officials. Dawn said it was making military progress and inflicted heavy casualties on the troops of Gen. Khalifa Hifter, who supports the legitimate government. It also said one of its fighters had died and nine had been wounded. The First Brigade of the Libyan National Armyled by Gen. Hifteronly […]

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ENLARGE Black smoke billows from a fire at an oil depot struck in crossfire between militias battling in Tripoli, Libya, last July. Fighting for control of the country’s oil facilities continues, with gunmen storming an oil field in central Libya on Wednesday, according to oil officials. Photo: Associated Press Gunmen have stormed an oil field in central Libya, oil officials said on Wednesday, just one day after fighting resumed near the country’s largest oil port. The attack underscores the chaos that is gripping Libya as rival factions vie for the control of its vital oil industry . A spokesman for state oil company National Oil Co. said unknown gunmen had entered the Mabruk oil field, which is operated by its joint-venture with France’s Total SA . Staff were able to leave the premises and are now safe, he said, but the status of the facility isn’t known. A manager […]

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Libyan oil official freed, though no word on responsible party. File Photo by Tariq AL-hun/UPI TRIPOLI, Libya, Feb. 2 (UPI) — Though he’s been released, it’s unclear which group was behind the kidnapping of a member of the Libyan National Oil Co., his family said. Samir Kamal, a member of the NOC’s planning committee, disappeared Jan. 15 while leaving his office in Tripoli. He was released Sunday , though no group has yet to claim responsibility for his kidnapping. "He is well, but of course shaken up," a family member told the Libya Herald. "The reasons for his kidnapping are unclear, and the people responsible are still unknown." Kamal has represented Libya’s interests at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries as the country struggles to resume its North American dominance in the 12-member group. OPEC in its January market report said continued unrest in Libya led to "significant disruption" […]

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