By Sami Zaptia.
London, 20 May 2016:
The Tripoli-based National Oil Corporation (NOC) issued a statement yesterday officially confirming the widely reported . . .[restrict]news that its chairman Mustafa Sanalla had met with the eastern-based NOC chairman Nagi Maghrabi in Vienna on 15 May.
It also confirmed that an oil tanker had loaded from the previously blockaded Hariga port.
The statement said that they had ‘’agreed on steps to unify (the) NOC and lift the blockade at Hariga port’’.
The statement confirmed that meeting was ‘’held at the direction of the Presidency Council’’ and revealed that the meeting ‘’was the fourth such meeting between Mr Sanalla and Dr el-Maghrabi since a first meeting on March 17 in Tunis’’.
The statement confirmed the news that the ‘’two sides signed a memorandum of understanding asking the House of Representatives and the Presidency Council to unify the oil sector’’.
‘’The two sides also agreed to resume crude oil shipments from Hariga to avoid damage to pipelines, avert a financial crisis, and ensure power supplies are not interrupted further’’.
‘’Resuming crude oil supplies will help to limit the deficit in the Libyan budget, (limit) the draw on CBL reserves and the direct effects on LYD (exchange) rates’’.
‘’The MOU makes no distinction between shipments for export and for domestic supply’’. The statement confirmed media reports that oil tanker ‘’MT Seachance sailed today (Friday 20 May) from Marsa Al Hariga with 660k BBL on-board announcing the resumption of the export from the port’’.
‘’In conclusion’’, the statement ended, ‘’we take this opportunity to assure the oil market about the future stability in the production of Misla and Sarir and exports from Marsa Al Hariga and we will do our best to restore the confidence in the Libyan grades’’.
At the time of writing there was no official confirmation from the eastern based NOC. [/restrict]
