In a communique by the Foreign Ministry, Minister Sameh Shoukry said that the Egyptian government grants legitimacy to the actions by the Libyan Army, in reference to the capture of the oil terminals of Zueitina, Brega, Ras Lanuf and Sidra at the beginning of this week, by the troops commanded by General Khalifa Haftar. “NOC is in charge of the ports”.
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“We were expecting this attack”, Muzafar al-Maghrabi said, insisting that the positions of Haftar’s forces are still “secured”. Force majeure was not declared on exports from Brega.
If the GNA asked for global support to prevent oil from being exported, he said, the worldwide community was “likely to provide that support”. “The developments of Sunday and Monday had the potential to escalate, with potentially devastating consequences for the nation and our petroleum industry”.
Speaking to reporters on 13 September as he visited Zeisian oil terminals, Sanalla said we can raise production to 600,000 b/d within four weeks and to 950,000 b/d by the end of the year from around 290,000 b/d at present.
Declaring “force majeuere” allows an oil supplier to break a contract because of circumstances beyond its control.
A view of Es Sider export terminal in Ras Lanuf, where a North Korean-flagged tanker had loaded crude oil, March 11, 2014.
An LNA official said there was a fire at a tank in Es Sider. In July, the Petroleum Facilities Guard force that was previously in control of the ports struck a deal with the GNA to reopen Es Sider, Ras Lanuf and Zueitina, which it had always been blockading.
The news wire cited an unnamed oil official as saying production has resumed at the Nafoura oilfield, which was closed in November due to the Zuetina force majeure. The field previously produced 25,000-30,000 bpd.
“We understand the port of Ras Lanuf itself has not been affected by the fighting so far, though the situation is in flux”, the NOC said in a statement.
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Libya has been in a state of turmoil since 2011, when a civil war broke out in the country and long-standing leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown, and the country was contested by two rival governments – the internationally-recognized Council of Deputies based in Tobruk and the Tripoli-based General National Congress.
