Crude oil prices were up on Friday as looser quarantine measures in Asia and Europe drove up oil demand.
International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $30.55 per barrel at 06:43 GMT for a 3.7% after ending Thursday at $29.46 a barrel.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $24.98 a barrel at the same for a 6.07% gain after closing the previous day at $23.55 per barrel.
The head of the High State Council, Khaled Mishri sent a letter on Saturday to Libya’s Attorney General’s Office on allowing 9 members of the same family to board a repatriation flight to Libya without having undergone the prescribed testing and quarantine procedure.
The Supreme Council of State had put in place precise procedures for the repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad to limit the spread of Covid-19, said Mishri.
He also added that the family were let on board a flight bound for Misrata airport on 5 May on compassionate grounds in order to attend the funeral of their son.
According to Mishri, the family has undergone the prescribed testing and quarantine procedures (quarantine for 14 days, and PCR screening) to make sure that all members are completely free of Coronavirus.
Yesterday, U.S. Ambassador Richard Norland and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeg discussed the economic situation in Libya and its impact on the Libyan people and public institutions, as the nation confronts the challenges posed by COVID-19.
Ambassador Norland stressed the need for concrete measures to increase the transparency and accountability of Libya’s economic institutions in order to fully address the basic needs of citizens across Libya.
Both sides agreed to work together to foster greater collaboration among Libyan economic and energy stakeholders to address key issues, including the projected supply deficits in power generation ahead of the summer, when outages reach their peak.
UNSMIL yesterday strongly condemned the increased attacks on civilian populated areas in Tripoli, including what it referred to as ”the appalling shelling” Thursday on Tripoli’s Zawiat al-Dahmani neighbourhood, near the Turkish embassy and the Italian ambassador’s residence, which reportedly killed at least two civilians and injured three others.
UNSMIL said it will continue to document violations to be shared, where relevant, with the Panel of Experts and the International Criminal Court.
It said that it is deeply alarmed by the intensification of indiscriminate attacks at a moment when Libyans deserve to peacefully observe the holy month of Ramadan and a time when they are battling the COVID-19 pandemic. These ”despicable actions” are a direct challenge to calls by some Libyan leaders for an end to the protracted fighting and for the resumption of the political dialogue, it added.
Once again, these attacks display a blatant disregard for international humanitarian law and human rights law and may amount to war crimes. All parties to the conflict must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law including complying with the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attacks to prevent civilian casualties. UNSMIL reiterates that those guilty of crimes under international law will be held to account.
Rocket attacks carried out on Saturday morning against Mitiga Airport led to a massive damage scale, leaving two Airbus planes damaged and out of service after being hit by shrapnel, according to the Libyan Airlines.
The spokesman of the Libyan Airlines Muhammed Kniwa said in a statement to Sada Economic Newspaper that shelling on Mitiga Airport set ablaze jet fuel tanks, destroyed firefighters’ vehicles, damaged the runway and the passengers’ lounge.
Meanwhile, the Libyan Health Ministry said two people had been killed and several others injured in the shelling on Mitiga Airport and surrounding neighborhoods.
Saturday’s attacks came hours after the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) condemned the indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Tripoli, saying the attacks “may amount to war crimes.”
Today, Saturday, May 9, 2020, Mitiga International Airport oil depot of Brega Petroleum Marketing company was hit by a barrage of rocket and missiles, which resulted in direct damage of 4 tanks and burned entirely.
Additionally, the attack affected other 6 tanks and caused huge damage to them as a result of the fire blazes. The depot contains 10 jet fuel tanks of 50000 liters each in addition to the airplane supply system that were directly damaged and became out of service. As well as a vehicle supplying jet fuel to air ambulance which was directly hit. This horrific accident was quickly dealt with in a highly professional manner by the brave fire fighters from Brega Petroleum Marketing company, who managed to extinguish the fire completely and with the help of the National Safety Authority, whom we salute their efforts and courage.
Unfortunately, the warehouse of Mitiga International Airport will be added to the losses assets of Brega Petroleum Marketing Company which have increased enormously. Hence, in this difficult time, the National Oil Corporation and Brega Petroleum Marketing company call for refraining from targeting the remaining facilities as these are the Libyan people’s sustenance and the oil sector serves all Libyans.
Jet fuel tanks at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport were targeted in an attack on Saturday that caused a large fire, Libya’s National Oil Corp (NOC) said.
Mitiga is the last functioning airport in the Libyan capital, though civilian flights stopped in March because of repeated shelling even before the country imposed a lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic.
The NOC statement, posted on the state-run company’s Facebook page, gave no details of the attack but said firemen were working to bring the blaze under control.
The Ministry of Interior stated on Thursday that it has released Reda Gergab, the audit bureau’s administrative director after questioning him.
With regards to the arrest process, the Ministry of Interior assured that its questioning of Mr Gergab was conducted within the law and that it will present the results of its investigations to the Attorney General’s Office.
National Oil Corporation’s subsidiaries and Repsol Consortium have reached the final stages of an ambitious study to recover LPG contained in flare gas in the Sharara oil field. This cooking gas will then be made available to residents in Southern Libya at its legal price.
Capturing flare gas and putting it to good use will reduce the levels of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere at the Sharara oil field and reduce waste.
“Of course, there are significant environmental advantages for this project,” said NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla. “But just as importantly, it will provide affordable cooking gas for citizens in the south who have been suffering since the start of this conflict.
“The situation in the south is unacceptable. The ongoing fighting and unrest are preventing us from sending regular convoys of gas from depots in the north, so we have to look for a more viable solution that benefits people and the environment.”
Talks with providers of the technology have reached the final stages. The new technology will allow the separation of LPG from flare gas in a cost-effective way. The project is estimated to take about 18 months to complete.
The CEO of the Italian oil firm ENI Claudio Descalzi stated during one of his most recent executive calls that he expects Libyan production to come back to normal around end June.
According to Oil Price (energy news site), currently only two oil-producing objects are safe from any military blockade – Libya’s offshore assets, Bouri and Al Jurf, both located along the Tunisian maritime border.
The ENI-operated Bouri field was Libya’s first offshore venture, having decommissioned the previous floating storage and offloading vessel, Bouri is now utilizing a brand new FSO with 1.5 MMbbls of storage capacity.
The Total-operated Al Jurf has a production capacity of 45kbpd and is using the Farwah FPSO, wielding an aggregate storage capacity of 0.9 MMbbls. Given that the Libyan national oil company holds 70% of Bouri and 50% of Al-Jurf, its share of Libya’s total output stands around 60kbpd, which has left an indelible mark on NOC’s financial stature.
According to data provided by the Libyan NOC, the cumulative financial losses arising from the production blockade amount to $4.35 billion as of end-April. In terms of output lost, some 110 million barrels have been missing, with Libya’s output effectively consisting exclusively of offshore fields.
The Libyan NOC’s income revenues have parched up compared to last year’s relative financial bounty, February incomes were at a mere $555 million, roughly a quarter of last year’s average. With oil production decreasing to the lowest minimum possible, nationwide availability of transport fuels has been deplorable.
Especially dire is the fuel situation in the capital Tripoli – there are no gasoline or diesel stocks there, whilst Benghazi has some 14 days’ worth of gasoline inventories and 2 days’ worth of Diesel.