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Heavy fighting reported in Libya's Benghazi

Heavy fighting is ongoing in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, apparently between the armed group Ansar al-Shariah and irregular forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar, a former army general. Witnesses said on Monday that gunfire, which began the day before, could be heard across the city, particularly coming from a special forces army base in a western suburb of Benghazi. News agencies reported that at least seven people have died and about a dozen have been wounded in the fighting. Haftar is campaigning  to rid Libya of fighters that he says the government has failed to control. Suleiman El Dressi, a Benghazi resident in the area of the clashes, told Al Jazeera that two people had been killed as a result of explosions there. "Residents are at home and they are very scared, waiting for the clashes to be over," he said. "Central government cannot control anything happening here, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Heavy fighting reported in Libya’s Benghazi

Heavy fighting is ongoing in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, apparently between the armed group Ansar al-Shariah and irregular forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar, a former army general. Witnesses said on Monday that gunfire, which began the day before, could be heard across the city, particularly coming from a special forces army base in a western suburb of Benghazi. News agencies reported that at least seven people have died and about a dozen have been wounded in the fighting. Haftar is campaigning  to rid Libya of fighters that he says the government has failed to control. Suleiman El Dressi, a Benghazi resident in the area of the clashes, told Al Jazeera that two people had been killed as a result of explosions there. "Residents are at home and they are very scared, waiting for the clashes to be over," he said. "Central government cannot control anything happening here, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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South Sudan receives $3.5 bil from oil sales over June 2013-May 2014: oil minister

South Sudan has received over $3.5 billion from the sale of crude oil between June 2013 and May 2014, the country’s oil minister Stephen Dhieu Dau said in a statement made available to Platts in the capital Juba on Sunday. "As from June 2013 to May 2014, South Sudan sold a total of 35.5 million barrels (97,260 b/d) from both Nile and Dar Blends," Dau said in the statement released on Friday but distributed to journalists later. Of the total sales, South Sudan paid Sudan $857 million for both tariffs and Transitional Financial Arrangements, or TFA, Dau said. South Sudan’s crude oil passes through the two cross-border pipelines in Sudan to facilities near Port Sudan on the Red Sea for export. Dau said the net amount realized by South Sudan — determined after all payments were made to Sudan, and $788 million made for payments or settlement of loans […]

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Egypt opens tender to import fuel in July-Sept 2014 -official

* Government hoping to avoid summer blackouts * Tender to supplement energy products donated by SaudiArabia * Raising energy prices could cause unrest CAIRO, May 31 (Reuters) – Egypt has launched a tender toimport hundreds of thousands of tonnes of petroleum products inthe third quarter of 2014, an energy official said on Saturday,as the country tries to stave off a summer energy crisis. Egypt’s government wants to avoid major power blackoutsduring the months of increased consumption in the summer, whenoutages are worsened by a dilapidated grid and a wastefulsubsidies system. The tender comes in addition to supplies from Saudi Arabia,which will deliver energy products to Egypt in July and Augustas part of an aid package announced after the Egyptian armyoverthrew Egypt’s first freely elected president, the IslamistMohamed Mursi. An official from the Egyptian General Petroleum Corp (EGPC)told Reuters that Egypt launched a tender on Thursday to import90,000 tonnes of […]

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Libya hopeful about its oil sector

The chairman of the Libyan National Oil Corp. said the government aims to hold an auction for new oil licenses once political hurdles are cleared. Companies interested in investing in Libya, once a premier North African oil producer, have said the nation’s troubled security sector and tough contractual terms are keeping them at bay. NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanallah told potential investors at an energy conference in London another bidding round is expected once a permanent government is formed and new draft oil laws are ready. "Hopefully by next year the situation will be very clear," he said Thursday. The latest monthly market report from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, of which Libya is a member, says the North African nation produced 238,000 barrels of oil per day in April, down from the first quarter average of 364,000 bpd and well below its 2012 level of 1.4 million bpd. […]

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Prolonged Libyan Oil Closures Delay Return to Normal Output

LONDON—Prolonged closures in Libya’s oil fields are set to delay a return to normal output, a senior official said Friday—even after production at the country’s largest oil field is restarted. Speaking at the third New Libya Oil and Gas Forum in London, Anwar Agil, head of production management at Libya’s National Oil Corporation, said a return to normal production at the country’s largest oil field could be delayed by four months because more than 20 underground pumps needed to be replaced. The Sharara field, in western Libya, which is operated by Spain’s Repsol SA, is currently shut after being occupied by local protesters seeking better redistribution of oil revenue. Underground pumps there have been repeatedly switched on and off amid false starts. The field has the capacity to produce 340,000 barrels a day—more than a fifth of Libya’s normal output of about 1.5 million barrels a day. But even […]

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Egypt: El-Sissi wins election by landslide

With nearly all votes counted, Egypt’s former military chief has won a crushing victory over his sole opponent with more than 92 percent of the votes, according to results announced by his campaign early Thursday. The campaign of retired field marshal Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said he won 23.38 million votes, with left-wing politician Hamdeen Sabahi taking 735,285. Invalid votes were 1.07 million, or nearly 350,000 more than the number of votes for the 59-year-old Sabahi. El-Sissi’s win was never in doubt, but the career infantry officer, also 59, had hoped for a strong turnout to bestow legitimacy on his ouster last July of Egypt’s first freely elected president, the Islamist Mohammed Morsi. According to el-Sissi’s campaign, the turnout nationwide was around 44 percent, even after voting was extended for a third day Wednesday – well below the nearly 52 percent turnout in the June 2012 election won […]

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US tells its nationals to leave Libya

The US State Department has recommended that Americans leave Libya immediately in its latest travel warning amid worsening unrest in the North African country. The department said on Tuesday that the security situation in Libya "remains unpredictable and unstable", with crime levels high in many parts of the country. The advisory came amid reports newly elected Libyan Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteg had escaped unharmed after his residence was . The State Department added that various groups also had called for attacks against US citizens and US interests in Libya. "Due to security concerns, the Department of State has limited staffing at Embassy Tripoli and is only able to offer very limited emergency services to US citizens in Libya," the travel warning said. "Because of the presumption that foreigners, especially US citizens, in Libya may be associated with the US government or US NGOs, travellers should be aware that they […]

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Libya’s new PM unharmed after attack

Libya’s prime minister, who was recently approved in a contested parliamentary vote, was unharmed in an attack on his home that set off a gun battle with guards, a government official said. The official said four attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades at the house of Ahmed Maiteg early on Tuesday, sparking clashes with security guards. One of the assailants was killed and another was arrested while the rest fled, the official said, speaking to the Associated Press news agency on condition of anonymity. Maiteg was named prime minister in a vote deemed illegitimate by religious hardline lawmakers. The appointment escalated a political crisis pitting lawmakers and fighters against forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar, who has launched an armed campaign to try to restore order, three years after the revolt that toppled and killed Muammar Gaddafi. Thousands of Libyans have held demonstrations in recent days demanding the elected assembly halt sessions and accusing […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Libya's new PM unharmed after attack

Libya’s prime minister, who was recently approved in a contested parliamentary vote, was unharmed in an attack on his home that set off a gun battle with guards, a government official said. The official said four attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades at the house of Ahmed Maiteg early on Tuesday, sparking clashes with security guards. One of the assailants was killed and another was arrested while the rest fled, the official said, speaking to the Associated Press news agency on condition of anonymity. Maiteg was named prime minister in a vote deemed illegitimate by religious hardline lawmakers. The appointment escalated a political crisis pitting lawmakers and fighters against forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar, who has launched an armed campaign to try to restore order, three years after the revolt that toppled and killed Muammar Gaddafi. Thousands of Libyans have held demonstrations in recent days demanding the elected assembly halt sessions and accusing […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple