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Libya Oil Sales to Rise as Rebels Surrender Two Ports

Libyan rebels surrendered control of two oil ports to the government, potentially enabling the OPEC member to triple crude exports this month with an increase of at least 180,000 barrels a day. Brent futures dropped. The self-declared Executive Office for Barqa handed over the oil terminals of Zueitina and Hariga overnight, said Ali Al-Hasy, a spokesman of the group that seeks self rule for the region that is also known as Cyrenaica. An agreement yesterday with the government also provides for the rebels to relinquish the other two ports they control, Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, in two to four weeks, he said. The government confirmed the agreement in a statement on its website. With Africa ’s largest oil reserves, Libya’s oil production slumped by more than 1 million barrels a day in the past year as protests halted oil fields and ports. Brent crude futures, which fell 1.3 […]

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Libya Rebels Report Accord ‘in Principle’ to Reopen Ports

The prospects for a recovery in Libyan oil exports moved closer after rebels blocking shipments from the country’s east said they agreed in principle with the government to allow a resumption. The rebels’ Executive Office for Barqa, representing the eastern region of Cyrenaica, reached an accord that four terminals halted since July can reopen, Ali Al-Hasy, a spokesman for the group, said April 2. Barqa politicians indicated the ports could operate within 24 to 48 hours, Sliman Qajam, a member of the energy committee in Libya’s government, said by phone yesterday from Tripoli, the capital. Libyan oil production plunged by more than 1 million barrels a day in the past year as protests halted oil fields and ports. Brent crude futures, used to price more than half of the world’s oil, are near the lowest level since November amid speculation that the export terminals may re-open, adding to supply. […]

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Libya sees ‘good intentions’ in talks with rebels, no deal yet

Libya has seen "good intentions" at indirect talks with eastern rebels which might lead to the lifting of their blockage of major oil ports within days, acting oil minister Omar Shakmak said on Thursday. Hopes have been building in oil markets that an eight-month blockage of major oil exports ports will end ever since rebels and the government said they were close to an agreement. Any deal will help the OPEC member halt its slide into instability as the weak central government has seemed unable to control militias who helped oust Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but kept their guns and made political demands on the state. "There are good intentions," Shakmak told reporters in the eastern city of Benghazi, adding that tribal leaders and local leaders were working hard to negotiate with the port rebels. He did not elaborate. The government also gave no update, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Libya sees 'good intentions' in talks with rebels, no deal yet

Libya has seen "good intentions" at indirect talks with eastern rebels which might lead to the lifting of their blockage of major oil ports within days, acting oil minister Omar Shakmak said on Thursday. Hopes have been building in oil markets that an eight-month blockage of major oil exports ports will end ever since rebels and the government said they were close to an agreement. Any deal will help the OPEC member halt its slide into instability as the weak central government has seemed unable to control militias who helped oust Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but kept their guns and made political demands on the state. "There are good intentions," Shakmak told reporters in the eastern city of Benghazi, adding that tribal leaders and local leaders were working hard to negotiate with the port rebels. He did not elaborate. The government also gave no update, […]

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Russian oil company Tatneft says it’s considering a return to Libya.

Russian state-controlled oil company Tatneft said it’s planning to resume operations in Libya, which were idled at the onset of the Libyan revolution in 2011. Tatneft in February 2011 suspended geological exploration in Libya as civil war began. Staff were returned in February 2013, but later pulled out of the country following an October 2013 attack on the Russian embassy in Tripoli. The company, in its latest financial report, said it’s been working since last year to return to work in Libya. "Starting in February 2013 the group has been working to resume operations in Libya, including returning staff to Tripoli and continuing supplier negotiations," the company said . "The group expects to re-launch its operations in Libya in 2014." Tatneft’s Libyan subsidiary operates in central Libya through a bilateral exploration and production sharing agreement with the National Oil Corp. of Libya. Internal conflicts have […]

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Russian oil company Tatneft says it's considering a return to Libya.

Russian state-controlled oil company Tatneft said it’s planning to resume operations in Libya, which were idled at the onset of the Libyan revolution in 2011. Tatneft in February 2011 suspended geological exploration in Libya as civil war began. Staff were returned in February 2013, but later pulled out of the country following an October 2013 attack on the Russian embassy in Tripoli. The company, in its latest financial report, said it’s been working since last year to return to work in Libya. "Starting in February 2013 the group has been working to resume operations in Libya, including returning staff to Tripoli and continuing supplier negotiations," the company said . "The group expects to re-launch its operations in Libya in 2014." Tatneft’s Libyan subsidiary operates in central Libya through a bilateral exploration and production sharing agreement with the National Oil Corp. of Libya. Internal conflicts have […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Seesi in Egypt Savior Role Carries Burden of Hope Amid Blackouts

Egyptians look at a row of portraits of deputy prime minister Abdel-Fattah al-Seesi supporting him to run for presidency in the upcoming elections, in Alexandria. Another evening, another power cut at Raouf Fayez’s jewelry store in Cairo’s sprawling Shoubra neighborhood. Flanked by darkened shops, his window display is empty of the gold ornaments that Fayez hasn’t felt safe showcasing since the 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak . Overlooking the scene from a poster on a neighbor’s balcony is the man who Fayez hopes can finally make it all better: Abdel-Fattah al-Seesi, who shed his military uniform last week […]

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Egypt: Smartcard Plan to Attack Egypt’s Fuel Crisis

; Fuel subsidies in Egypt account for 22 percent of the state’s annual budget, taking funds away from other sectors like health and education. The government believes an ambitious five-year scheme, starting with a fuel smartcard roll-out, will reduce and rationalize fuel consumption, circumvent widespread corruption and phase out fuel subsidies. Estimates for fuel subsidies for this year amount to the equivalent of US$20.1 billion. "We pay for fuel subsidies about seven times more than what we spend on health and three times more than on education," said Haithem Trabeek, a senior strategic and business planning manager with E-Finance, a company owned by the Ministry of Finance and selected by the government to run a new smartcard system that is part of a plan to reform fuel subsidy payments. The cards are initially being used to monitor the distribution of subsidised fuel to help identify fraud and corruption […]

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Egypt: Smartcard Plan to Attack Egypt's Fuel Crisis

; Fuel subsidies in Egypt account for 22 percent of the state’s annual budget, taking funds away from other sectors like health and education. The government believes an ambitious five-year scheme, starting with a fuel smartcard roll-out, will reduce and rationalize fuel consumption, circumvent widespread corruption and phase out fuel subsidies. Estimates for fuel subsidies for this year amount to the equivalent of US$20.1 billion. "We pay for fuel subsidies about seven times more than what we spend on health and three times more than on education," said Haithem Trabeek, a senior strategic and business planning manager with E-Finance, a company owned by the Ministry of Finance and selected by the government to run a new smartcard system that is part of a plan to reform fuel subsidy payments. The cards are initially being used to monitor the distribution of subsidised fuel to help identify fraud and corruption […]

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Libyan Rebels May Reach Agreement on Oil Ports in One Month

Rebels seeking self-rule in eastern Libya may reach an agreement with the government to restore the nation’s crude exports to full capacity in a month, according to their spokesman. A deal hinges on the central government dropping a threat to attack oil ports under rebel control, said Ali Al-Hasy, spokesman for the self-declared Executive Office for Barqa, or Cyrenaica region. The Barqa group is seeking a share of oil revenue for its region. “The mood is positive, we can see a settlement in a month’s time,” Al-Hasy said in a phone interview from eastern Libya. “If the government withdraws its threat, all will become easy; the oil facilities are in very good shape.” The Barqa rebels, led by former Petroleum Facilities Guards commander Ibrahim Al-Jedran, took control of four of Libya’s nine oil ports in July. Exports halted from the Es Sider, Ras Lanuf, Zueitina and Hariga facilities. The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple