Libyan oilfield closures spread amid standoff between rival governments
Adds eastern-based parliament speaker comment in paragraphs 10-11
By Ayman Werfali
BENGHAZI, Aug 27 (Reuters) -Several oilfields across Libya have halted output as closures spread, engineers said on Tuesday, amid a dispute over control of the central bank and oil revenue.
Presidency Council head Mohammed al-Menfi in Tripoli had issued a decision to replace central bank head Sadiq al-Kabir and the bank's board - which the parliament in the east rejected.
On Monday, authorities in the east, where most of the oilfields lie, threatened to close them all, stepping up their standoff with the internationally recognised government in Tripoli, which depends heavily on the fields for its revenues.
There has still been no confirmation of any closures from the Tripoli-based government, or from the National Oil Corp (NOC), which is in charge of oil resources.
However, engineers at the southeastern Amal and Nafoora oilfields told Reuters production had been halted, while engineers at Abu Attifel, also in the east, said output was reduced.
Engineers at the southwestern El Feel oilfield also said output had been halted. The field, which has a capacity of 70,000 barrels per day, is operated by Mellitah Oil and Gas, which is a joint venture between NOC and Italy's Eni ENI.MI.
The government in Benghazi is not internationally recognised, but most oilfields are under the control of eastern Libyan military leader Khalifa Haftar.
Haftar said in a statement on Monday that the central bank should not be tampered with, rejecting what he called "illegal actions taken by entities that lack legitimacy and authority".
Meanwhile, the Tripoli-based prime minister, Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, said in a statement that oilfields should not be allowed to be shut down "under flimsy pretexts".
Later, the speaker of the eastern-based parliament, Aguila Saleh, said that oil and gas flows would remain on hold until the central bank governor resumed his legal duties, to preserve the wealth of the Libyan people "from tampering and theft".
He added in remarks to the press that "the appointment of the governor is not within the jurisdiction of the Presidential Council at all, and what the council did is in violation of the law".
NOC subsidiary Waha Oil Company had said on Monday it planned to gradually reduce output and warned of a complete halt to Libya's production, citing unspecified "protests and pressures", while another subsidiary, Sirte Oil Company, also said it would cut output.
The NOC declared force majeure earlier this month at one of the country's largest oilfields, Sharara, located in Libya's southwest with a capacity of 300,000 bpd, due to protests. The force majeure is still in force.
Libya's overall oil production was about 1.18 million barrels per day in July, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, citing secondary sources.
Brent crude prices LCOc1 were down slightly on Tuesday trading at about $81 a barrel, after rebounding more than 7% over the previous three sessions on supply concerns partly prompted by concerns over the impact of Libyan shutdowns.
Reporting by Ayman Werfali; Writing by Nayera Abdallah; Editing by David Holmes and Jonathan Oatis
Asset collegati
Ultime news
Disclaimer: le entità di XM Group forniscono servizi di sola esecuzione e accesso al nostro servizio di trading online, che permette all'individuo di visualizzare e/o utilizzare i contenuti disponibili sul sito o attraverso di esso; non ha il proposito di modificare o espandere le proprie funzioni, né le modifica o espande. L'accesso e l'utilizzo sono sempre soggetti a: (i) Termini e condizioni; (ii) Avvertenza sui rischi e (iii) Disclaimer completo. Tali contenuti sono perciò forniti a scopo puramente informativo. Nello specifico, ti preghiamo di considerare che i contenuti del nostro servizio di trading online non rappresentano un sollecito né un'offerta ad operare sui mercati finanziari. Il trading su qualsiasi mercato finanziario comporta un notevole livello di rischio per il tuo capitale.
Tutto il materiale pubblicato sul nostro servizio di trading online è unicamente a scopo educativo e informativo, e non contiene (e non dovrebbe essere considerato come contenente) consigli e raccomandazioni di carattere finanziario, di trading o fiscale, né informazioni riguardanti i nostri prezzi di trading, offerte o solleciti riguardanti transazioni che possano coinvolgere strumenti finanziari, oppure promozioni finanziarie da te non richieste.
Tutti i contenuti di terze parti, oltre ai contenuti offerti da XM, siano essi opinioni, news, ricerca, analisi, prezzi, altre informazioni o link a siti di terzi presenti su questo sito, sono forniti "così com'è", e vanno considerati come commenti generali sui mercati; per questo motivo, non possono essere visti come consigli di investimento. Dato che tutti i contenuti sono intesi come ricerche di investimento, devi considerare e accettare che non sono stati preparati né creati seguendo i requisiti normativi pensati per promuovere l'indipendenza delle ricerche di investimento; per questo motivo, questi contenuti devono essere considerati come comunicazioni di marketing in base alle leggi e normative vigenti. Assicurati di avere letto e compreso pienamente la nostra Notifica sulla ricerca di investimento non indipendente e la nostra Informativa sul rischio riguardante le informazioni sopra citate; tali documenti sono consultabili qui.