Libyan output at risk

TRIPOLI, May 10, 2016 – Libya will have to shut down some if its major oilfields if the blockade of Marsa Al Hariga port continues, a spokesperson for the Tripoli-headquartered National Oil Corporation said on Tuesday.

 

The blockade was imposed on April 30 after the first batch of independent exports by the rival Benghazi-based National Oil Corporation was blacklisted by the UN. “In less than four weeks we will have to shut production completely because the tanks at Hariga will be full,” Mohamed Harari, spokesperson for the western NOC said. The UN backs the Fayez al Sarraj-led government of national unity, which controls the western parts of Libya.

Harari further added that the oil flowing to Hariga has a high wax content. If the flow of oil is not assured, it risks solidifying in the pipelines, thereby exacerbating production loss.