NOC Lifts Force Majeure at All Oil Crescent Ports

Zueitina Oil Company Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said that it is lifting force majeure at all Oil Crescent ports after it accepted handover of the ports from the Libyan National Army reporting to the House of Representatives on September 14. Exports will resume immediately from Zueitina and Ras Lanuf, and will continue at Brega, while exports from Es Sidra are scheduled to resume soon. The handover was conducted during a visit to Zueitina by NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla. He said that the NOC assessment teams reported that Zueitina and Brega ports were intact, and that Ras Lanuf and Es Sidra were not further damaged during recent events. The move comes days after the country’s fourth oil port of Brega was seized by forces opposed to Libya’s unity government. Earlier this week the forces took control of oil terminals at Ras Lanuf, Es Sidra and Zueitina a few days earlier. The developments of Sunday and Monday had the potential to escalate, with potentially devastating consequences for the nation and our petroleum industry. Instead, we have found a shared interest in letting the oil flow, said Sanalla. It is expected that the production could increase to 600,000 b/d within four weeks and to 950,000 b/d by the end of the year from the current production capacity of around 290,000 b/d. Force majeure was declared at Es Sidra and Ras Lanuf in December 14, 2014, and at Zueitina on November 3, 2015. Force majeure was not declared on exports from Brega.