Libyan oil workers threaten to shut down 200,000 barrel-per-day

Oil workers threaten to shut down at the end of February an oil export terminal in eastern Libya, which typically ships out nearly 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude if workers’ pay demands are not met by a unit of the state oil corporation, Argus reported on Tuesday, quoting a shipping source.

The workers threaten to shut down crude oil exports from the Marsa el-Hariga oil terminal, which ships oil pumped by Agoco, a subsidiary of Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC).

Last year, Marsa el-Hariga exported on average 196,000 bpd, while crude shipments out of the oil port averaged 194,000 bpd in January 2022, Argus tracking data shows.

Demands for payment are often the cause of blockades in Libya’s oil exports. The most recent blockade was by the Petroleum Facilities Guard and forced NOC to declare force majeure on exports from several ports at the end of December and early January. A pipeline shutdown for urgent repairs and the blockade of several fields, including the country’s largest oilfield, Sharara, plunged Libya’s oil production to below 800,000 bpd in early January.