Libya’s Oil Exports Crashed By 81% Amid Political Standoff

Amid the ongoing political standoff between rival governments, Libya’s crude oil exports plummeted to 194,000 barrels per day (bpd) last week, an 81% plunge compared to the previous week, according to data from Kpler cited by Reuters.

Last week, the average export levels were way off the 1 million bpd in exports in the previous weeks, the data showed on Wednesday.

Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) has canceled some cargoes, although it has not declared force majeure on all exports from the country.

NOC has declared force majeure on individual cargoes only, trade sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

A source at NOC told the newswire that the company allowed some tankers to dock at Libyan ports and load crude from storage, in order to avoid fines if the shipments fail to fulfill contractual obligations.

The latest crisis in Libya erupted at the end of August.

Part of Libya’s production and exports were halted due to a political standoff over the leadership of the OPEC producer’s central bank.

Oil production at several Libyan oilfields was halted on August 27 after the rival government in the east announced a stop to all oil production and exports from Libya.

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

The internationally recognized government in the capital city in the west, Tripoli, was trying to replace Sadiq Al-Kabir, the governor of the Central Bank of Libya.

This has led to the latest controversy between the Eastern and Western governments and political factions, threating again to reduce Libya’s oil production and exports.

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

The situation, however, remains uncertain.

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

Source: Oilprice.com