Libya’s oil exports plunged 81% amid the political impasse

Amid ongoing political conflict between rival governments, Libya’s crude oil exports fell to 194,000 barrels per day (bpd) last week, down 81 percent from the previous week, according to Kpler data cited by Reuters.

Last week, average levels of exports were well below the 1 million barrels a day in exports in previous weeks, data showed on Wednesday.

Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) canceled some cargoes, although it did not declare force majeure for all exports from the country. The NOC declared the force majeure only for individual commodities, trade sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

A NOC source told the news station that the company had allowed tankers to dock at Libyan ports and load crude oil from storage to avoid fines if the shipments failed to meet their contractual obligations.

The most recent crisis in Libya erupted in late August.

Some of Libya’s production and exports have been halted because of a political impasse over the leadership of the OPEC producer’s central bank.

Oil production at several Libyan oil fields was halted on August 27 after the rival government in the east announced a halt to Libyan oil production and exports.

Libya, which pumps about 1.2 million barrels a day of oil, has been plunged into a deeper political crisis over the row over the leadership of the Central Bank of Libya, the only internationally recognized depository of Libya’s oil revenues.

The internationally recognized government in the western capital, Tripoli, was seeking to replace Sadiq Al-Kabir, the governor of Libya’s Central Bank. This led to the latest controversy between Eastern and Western governments and political factions, again threatening to cut Libya’s oil production and exports.

Last week, Libya’s warring political factions reached an agreement on the mechanism and timelines for the appointment of the Central Bank Governor and Board of Directors in consultations hosted by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

However, the situation remains uncertain.

On Tuesday, UNSMIL said it would resume facilitating talks on the resolution of the Central Bank of Libya crisis at its headquarters in Tripoli on Wednesday.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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