Page 16 - AfrOil Week 03 2021

AfrOil PERFORMANCE AfrOil

Pipeline leak reduces Libyan oil output

LIBYA LIBYA’S National Oil Corp. (NOC) said on Jan-
uary 16 that the country’s crude oil production
had dropped by around 200,000 barrels per day
(bpd) following the shutdown of a key pipeline.
In a Facebook post, NOC noted that Waha
Oil Co. (WOC), one of its production units,
had suspended shipments through the pipeline
that pumps oil to Es Sider, the largest oil export
terminal on Libya’s Mediterranean Sea coast.
It explained that WOC had taken this step
to address a leak in the pipeline and hoped to
complete repairs soon. The pipe is expected to
resume operations in two weeks, it said.
In the meantime, it noted, the shutdown has
brought Libyan oil output down from 1.25mn The affected pipeline serves oilfields in Libya’s Sirte basin (Photo: NOC)
bpd to a little more than 1mn bpd. Most of the
fields affected by the stoppage are in the Sirte Even so, NOC has been concentrating on
Basin. bringing output levels back up as quickly as pos-
The pipeline to Es Sider is not the only com- sible. Libya’s oil production dropped by more
ponent of Libya’s oil infrastructure in need of than 800,000 bpd in the first five months of
repair and maintenance. Many of the country’s 2020, bottoming out at less than 100,000 bpd,
production and processing facilities, pipelines, before the finalisation of the ceasefire deal. The
refineries, storage depots and terminals have downturn left many areas of the country short of
been neglected or have incurred damage within fuel and also deprived the government of much-
the last few years, owing to fighting between needed revenue.
rival factions. The signing of a ceasefire between GNA and LNA are now trying to form a
the two main factions – the UN-backed Gov- unity government in order to keep the oilfields
ernment of National Accord (GNA), based in in production. As of press time, representatives
Tripoli, and the Libyan National Army (LNA), of both sides were still trying to reach agreement
led by Khalifa Haftar – last October has cleared on the method of choosing the new administra-
the way for the necessary work to be done. tion. ™

Botswana downplays risk of fuel

shortages following refinery outages

BOTSWANA MMETIA Masire, the permanent secretary permanent secretary said.
of Botswana’s Ministry of Mineral Resources, “South Africa has reduced its ration of
Green Technology and Energy Security, said fuel supply to the southern African countries
last week that he did not expect developments by almost 40% due to the closure of some its
in South Africa’s downstream sector to lead to refineries,” he was quoted as saying in the press
fuel shortages in his own country. release. “Nevertheless, currently all our filling
In a ministry press release, Masire noted stations throughout the country still [have] suf-
that two of South Africa’s four oil refineries had ficient fuel supply.”
halted production within the last year because of He further stated that his ministry was work-
accidents. These shutdowns have had an effect ing closely with BOL and other players in the
on the volume of South African petroleum local fuel market to monitor supply conditions.
products delivered to Botswana, he acknowl- The government is ready to take measures to
edged. He also stressed, though, that Botswana address shortages, including withdrawals from
Oil Ltd (BOL), the national oil company (NOC), strategic petroleum product stocks, he declared.
was working to make up for this shift by import- He cautioned, though, that inventory draws
ing more fuel from Namibia and Mozambique. would only be considered if supply shortfalls
This strategy appears to be effective, the became serious.

P16 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 03 20•January•2021