Renewed protests keep Libya oil exports below half of normal

LONDON (Reuters) - Libya's oil exports were flowing at less than half of normal rates on Friday as strikes and protests kept major terminals shut in one of the worst disruptions to hit the North African OPEC producer in the past year.

A new wave of unrest that began on Sunday forced the closure of the Es Sider and Ras Lanuf terminals in eastern Libya, cutting exports to about 425,000 barrels per day (bpd) from previous levels of more than 1 million, industry sources said.

The latest stoppages have featured security guards seeking more pay while protests that have also involved demands by local people for more oil sector jobs had already closed the Zueitina terminal in early July.

Oil industry sources said the three terminals remained closed.

A senior Libyan official had said late on Thursday that he expected output to resume very soon.

"We have communication now with people there to resume the production," Mustafa Sanalla, a board member of Libya's state National Oil Corporation, said at a conference in Washington, D.C.

The protests and strikes cut output last month to 1.15 million bpd versus 1.3 million bpd the previous month, according to a Reuters survey.

Before the unrest, Libya's production had nearly recovered to the rates of 1.6 million bpd seen before the conflict that led to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Ras Lanuf and Es Sider together are able to handle about 600,000 bpd. Zueitina had been exporting up to 70,000 bpd.

Ras Lanuf is a large complex that includes the country's biggest refinery, also affected by the strikes, and a separate port. Es Sider exports the main Es Sider crude oil grade pumped by the Waha consortium, which has a capacity of around 350,000 bpd.

Libya's Deputy Oil Minister Omar Shakmak said on Thursday that the government should not give in to the protesters. "If this is accepted, it is possible then maybe some others will do the same thing," Shakmak said in Washington.

The disruptions to Libya's oil sector risk crippling its economic lifeline and choking off state revenues.

The El-Feel oilfield, with production capacity of 130,000 bpd, has been shut down for several weeks. The field is operated by Mellitah - a joint venture between Libya's state energy firm and Italy's Eni.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/renewed-protests-keep-libya-oil-exports-below-half-132039063.html

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