Category:

Libya rebels say oil crisis can be resolved, but no end in sight

Eastern separatists blockading three of Libya’s oil export terminals say the six-month-old crisis crippling the country’s energy industry could be resolved within weeks. But there’s little sign of any breakthrough. Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said Monday he’s ordered the army, a force that has still to coalesce as a state institution capable of protecting the state, to lift the blockade of the ports of Es Sider, Ras Lanuf and Zueitina that began in July 2013. But on Tuesday the military said it had received no orders, from Zeidan or the Defense Ministry, to move against the rebels holding the ports through which the bulk of Libya’s oil exports pass. "If we receive any orders, the matter will be studied at that time," said army spokesman Ali Alsheikhi — a reply that suggested the army doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to confront […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Libya says bandits disrupt oil from Sharara field

Libyan oil industry officials said bandits caused production from the Sharara oil field to drop by 40 percent by blocking a pipeline to downstream facilities. Field manager Hassan al-Sideek said bandits forced a valve to close from Sharara, blocking 40 percent of the delivery of crude oil to the Zawia oil refinery and terminal, the Libya Herald reported Monday. Operations at Sharara, in the western Libyan desert, were shuttered in October by regional protesters calling for more local authority. The field has the capacity to produce 350,000 barrels of oil per day. In January, Libyan Oil Minister Abdelbari al-Arusi said the restart of the Sharara oil field in the west of the country had contributed to recent production gains. Maintenance crews were told by gunmen near the pipeline the rebels would only speak with government officials. "We don’t know what they want," a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Libya Sends Army to End Blockade

Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said Monday he had ordered the army to end the blockade imposed by armed protesters on oil terminals in the east of the country. The country’s oil production has fallen sharply after rebels blocked the terminals in the summer last year, bringing the government on the brink of a financial crisis. But in a news conference posted on his website, Mr. Zeidan said he asked "the minister of defense to order the chief of staff to move toward oil ports." Mr. Zeidan has frequently warned he would use force to end the blockade by an armed group seeking autonomy for the eastern region of Cyrenaica. But though the Libyan navy has shot at tankers trying to enter the rebel-held ports, no concrete action has been taken to retake the terminals. The blockade of the terminals has cut the country’s production to nearly a third […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. Apache Corp. keen on investing in Egypt, official says

Egypt’s oil and gas resources provide "continued opportunity for profitable investment," said Thomas Maher of Apache Corp. The U.S. company has 27 drilling rigs and 5 million acres targeted for exploration in Egypt’s Western Desert. "Apache sees continued opportunity for profitable investment developing Egypt’s oil and gas resources," Maher, a company general manager for Egypt, said in a statement Thursday. The company, which has headquarters in Texas, said some of its latest operations are already producing, or have discovered, oil and natural gas. Last year, Apache drilled more than 250 wells in the region. For the third quarter, the last full quarter for which data are available, gross production averaged 346,530 barrels of oil equivalent per day,Apache said. British energy company BG Group said Monday it declared force majeure in Egypt, meaning it’s unable to meet certain contractual obligations because of circumstances beyond its […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

OMV gives upbeat assessment on Libyan oil

Austrian energy company OMV said oil production this year should be in line with its annual outlook. The Austrian company said Libyan operations has resumed and production of 320,000 to 340,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day is in line with expectations for 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The company said in a statement emailed in November production was offline "since the end of October," but provided no explanation for the disruption. Overall production from the company declined last year in part due to Libyan security issues but that was offset by gains from the North Sea, the Journal reported. Rebels who helped fight Moammar Gadhafi ‘s forces in 2011 in November declared independence for the region known as Cyrenaica, which hosts some of Libya’s key oil terminals. Labor strikes, internal battles for supremacy and general conflict have curbed Libya’s oil output. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Libya’s eastern district lays down oil gauntlet

Oil will flow again from eastern export terminals once the government in Tripoli meets demands from the region, a Cyrenaica administrator said. Abdraba Abdulhameed al-Barasi, leader from the regional Cyrenaica government, told the Libya Herald the central government agreed to form a committee to oversee future production and exports from Cyrenaica, Fezzan and Tripolitania states. Tripoli has yet to answer, however, on whether Cyrenaica can take in profits generated from oil produced in the region, the Libyan newspaper reports. Agreeing to all of the demands is the only way to restart exports from eastern terminals, Barasi said Tuesday. In November, rebel groups in the east of the country, some of which helped topple the regime of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, declared independence for Cyrenaica, which hosts some of Libya’s key oil terminals. Before the 2011 conflict, Libya produced on average 1.6 million bpd […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Libya's eastern district lays down oil gauntlet

Oil will flow again from eastern export terminals once the government in Tripoli meets demands from the region, a Cyrenaica administrator said. Abdraba Abdulhameed al-Barasi, leader from the regional Cyrenaica government, told the Libya Herald the central government agreed to form a committee to oversee future production and exports from Cyrenaica, Fezzan and Tripolitania states. Tripoli has yet to answer, however, on whether Cyrenaica can take in profits generated from oil produced in the region, the Libyan newspaper reports. Agreeing to all of the demands is the only way to restart exports from eastern terminals, Barasi said Tuesday. In November, rebel groups in the east of the country, some of which helped topple the regime of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, declared independence for Cyrenaica, which hosts some of Libya’s key oil terminals. Before the 2011 conflict, Libya produced on average 1.6 million bpd […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Egypt’s Ruler Eyes Riskier Role: The Presidency

When Egypt’s first freely elected president, Mohamed Morsi, named Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi defense minister, the officer pledged to keep the military out of politics and make way for civilian democracy. A year later, General Sisi ousted Mr. Morsi, insisting the military was answering the people’s call to secure “their revolution.” Just three weeks later, he once again said he was turning to the people when he urged them to take to the streets to give him a personal “mandate” to crush Mr. Morsi’s base of support in the Muslim Brotherhood. Then on Monday, Field Marshal Sisi — he added the title the same day — took the first formal step to become Egypt’s next president, insisting he was yielding once again to “the free choice of the masses” and “the call of duty.” With that, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

BG Group blames Egypt for poor performance

British energy company BG Group said Monday ongoing problems in Egypt were in part responsible for its decline in natural gas volumes. BG Group said Monday it declared force majeure in Egypt, meaning it’s unable to meet certain contractual obligations because of circumstances beyond its control. "We have elected to issue force majeure notices in Egypt reflecting the ongoing diversions of gas volumes to the domestic market," BG Group Chief Executive Officer Chris Finlayson said in a statement. The company said its financial performance was impacted by the "difficult operating environment in Egypt," as well as lower gas prices in the United States. It added the interim Egyptian government hasn’t honored agreements on the company’s share of natural gas from Egyptian fields, saying diversions into the domestic market during the fourth quarter of 2013 were higher than expected. The company said its 2014 production […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Officials: 3 Egyptians abducted in Libya freed

– Two Egyptian diplomats and an embassy staff member abducted in Libya have been freed after Cairo released a Libyan militia leader who was arrested last week, officials in both countries said Monday. The releases took place late on Sunday, according to an Egyptian security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. Three Egyptian diplomats still held captive are also expected to be released soon, he said. The six Egyptians – five diplomats and the one embassy staff member – were seized late Friday and early Saturday in the Libyan capital, Tripoli. No one claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. The abductions came hours after Libya’s state news agency reported that Egyptian authorities had arrested Shaaban Hadiya, the commander of a militia known as Revolutionaries Operation Room. The militia claims to answer to the Libyan army but […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple