The eastern government of Libya may declare force majeure on oil export terminals and oilfields due to “repeated assaults on the National Oil Corporation (NOC),” said the government based in Benghazi.
Although the Libyan government in the east is not internationally recognized, many of Libya’s oilfields are in the east and under control of eastern strongman General Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army (LNA).
Rumors have been circulating that the headquarters of Libya’s NOC, based in Tripoli, had been stormed.
The eastern government has said that it could temporarily relocate NOC’s headquarters to one of the “safe” cities such as Ras Lanuf and Brega, both controlled by the government in the east, according to a statement carried by Reuters.
NOC has denied reports that the headquarters had been stormed, saying they were “completely false.”
Earlier this month, clashes erupted in Tripoli, forcing shipping companies to divert vessels away from the capital’s port and raising concerns over the security of the country’s vital energy exports.
NOC said in the middle of May that “technical and operational processes at all oil fields and ports are proceeding normally and safely.”
NOC “reassures its local and international partners that oil and gas production and export operations are continuing smoothly and without interruption at all its subsidiaries, in accordance with the highest standards of security and safety, and that there is no impact on operational processes,” the company said.
Over the past few months, major international oil companies have announced their return to Libya following years of stepping aside as the civil war was raging and damaging oilfield and oil pipeline infrastructure due to the infighting between supporters of the governments of the east and west.
BP and Eni, for example, returned to Libya last year after a decade of avoiding the country amid its civil war. After a 10-year hiatus, U.S. oilfield services provider Weatherford also returns to work in Libya.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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