US-based Hess is reportedly seeking to load stored crude oil from Libya’s blockaded Es Sider port this week. Shipping sources said the Greek-flagged Minerva Eleonara had been chartered by the company to load 600,000 barrels of crude from Es Sider. The vessel is expected to arrive at the port as soon as September 10, although the port officials have not confirmed it. Another shipping source said that the Liberian-flagged Cobalt Sun is sailing in the Mediterranean sea and is expected to take crude at Es Sider by Friday.
The loading will mark Libya’s first exports after being halted for about nine months, due to the ongoing Civil War, which forced the country’s oil production to a near standstill. However, the warring parties agreed on a ceasefire after UN-mediated talks in Geneva in August. Crude production in Libya has tumbled to 70,000-110,000 bpd over the past few months from over 1.1 million bpd before the conflict.
Libya’s National Oil Company (NOC) maintains force majeure on exports from Es Sider and other ports due to blockades by the Libyan National Army. LNA-aligned Petroleum Facilities Guard militia has said that it might allow shipments from some ports. NOC welcomes the ceasefire but still struggles with the presence of militias around the oil terminals.
