Libya Shuts Oil Terminals As Storm Daniel Hits

Libya’s National Oil Corporation declared a state of emergency for its four oil ports amid a Mediterranean storm that swept through Greece last week and is now heading to northern Africa.

The Ras Lanuf, Zueitina, Brega, and Es Sider will remain closed until at least tomorrow, a NOC official said, as quoted by bne IntelliNews.

In Greece, the storm caused heavy flooding and 11 deaths.

In anticipation of Daniel, NOC has advised all companies to restrict movement between oil fields and be ready to evacuate employees if necessary, bne IntelliNews also reported.

The storm update comes as Libya’s oil production reached 1.207 million barrels daily, per the National Oil Corporation.

NOC published the update on Facebook, also reporting that in August, total oil production stood at 36.5 million barrels.

The storm disruption comes a month after fighting erupted between two political and military factions, this time in the capital, Tripoli.

Since the end of August 2022, Libya had been pumping close to or even above 1.2 million bpd, the level last seen before the port blockades that began in the spring of 2022 crippled Libyan oil output in the spring and most of the summer of 2022.

Lately, the violence has subsided, enough for international oil companies to consider a return to the North African country.

BP and Italy’s Eni were the first to lift the force majeure on their Libyan operations last month. Algeria’s Sonatrach also returned to Libya.

Meanwhile, Libya is planning to have its first oil and gas tender in 17 years to further boost its hydrocarbon production.

The tender will be held in 2024 and should help Libya move closer to its target of 2 million bpd in daily oil output by 2026. According to the African Energy Chamber, Libya’s maximum production capacity is 1.8 million bpd by 2024 but Tripoli insists it can boost this to 3 million bpd in two to three years.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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