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The shutdown cost Libya more than $160mn repeated closures as a result of protests, politi- higher than the average of last year, which stood
($34.6mn) per day in lost income in March. San- cal power struggles and other disruptions. As at 375,000 bpd.
allah had declared force majeure by then; a com- a result, Libya’s crude production dipped by Shipments to Asia-Pacific fell by 14% to
mon announcement in extraordinary situations. 330,000 bpd for several days in March, causing 85,000 bpd in March, as exports to India
He also urged public prosecutors to take deter- the North African country to lose $34.6mn of retreated by 15% to 33,000 bpd. Crude loadings
rent measures against those who had planned revenue per day. to South Korea and Thailand fell by 13% for each.
and implemented the shutdown. However, no Meanwhile, ongoing struggles and armed bna/IntelliNews, April 5 2022
details were revealed about whether the armed clashes between Libya’s multiple armed factions
groups were punished. Tribal leaders convinced have left the country’s oil infrastructure fragile
the militias to resume production later from the and unable to cope with the strain. POLICY
fields. Libya’s state-owned National Oil Corp.
The two fields that were mainly hit were the (NOC) said in March that it had plans to expand Algeria, Italy look to fill
country’s largest, Sharara and el-Fil. After the downstream capacity via the passage of a newly
closure of the two fields, Libyan oil production proposed hydrocarbons law, as well as a series Russian-shaped hole in
was around 900,000-950,000 barrels per day of regulatory reviews related to the structure
(bpd). Both fields were disrupted by the same and management of the domestic oil and gas gas supply roster
militias in 2014 and 2016. industry.
Libya’s main oilfields have witnessed repeated bna/IntelliNews, April 3 2022 The Italian foreign ministry confirms Italy and
closures as a result of protests, political power Algeria have signed an agreement to launch joint
struggles between two governments and two Algeria’s crude exports political, economic and energy projects this year.
parliaments and other disruptions. Ongoing In late February, Italian Foreign Minister
struggles and armed clashes between the coun- remain steady in March, Luigi Di Maio visited Algeria to seek new energy
try’s multiple armed factions have left the coun- partnerships. Italy, as with other EU member
try’s oil infrastructure fragile and unable to cope rise for EU customers states, faces a potential gas shortage due to the
with the strain. ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
bna/IntelliNews, April 5 2022 Algeria’s crude exports remained steady in Both Italy and Algeria discussed the possi-
March for the second consecutive month, bility of increasing gas exports to Europe in the
OPEC continues to exclude according to news portal Argus. coming period.
Algeria is Italy’s second-largest supplier of
But crude exports to north-west Europe and
Libya from production cuts the Mediterranean rose by 5% year on year to gas after Russia. Gas imports are piped from the
304,000 barrels per day in March, amid rising Hassi R’Mel field through Tunisia to Sicily via the
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting European demand on escalating energy prices TransMed pipeline. Italian energy companies
Countries (OPEC) has excluded Libya from its due to the Russia-Ukraine war. Loadings to the Eni, Enel and Edison work in Libya and last year
latest decision allowing members to ease oil pro- UK rose 117% to 105,000 bpd in the month. exported nearly 21bn cubic metres of gas to Italy,
duction cuts, according to Libyan Oil Minister Crude exports to Spain rose by 29% to 95,000 almost one-fifth of the country’s gas imports.
Mohamed Oun. bpd, and shipments to Italy soared by nearly bna/IntelliNews, March 31 2022
The cartel has been exempting Libya from its 108% to 70,000 bpd.
production quota regime for some time, with The rise of Algeria’s crude to Spain in March South African government
the aim of preventing the war-torn country from came before the warning made by Sonatrach this
suffering any further economic setbacks, and it month that it could raise the price of the oil it to sell stored oil to cut
has done so once again after expanding its over- sells to Spain, amid growing diplomatic tensions
all production quotas by 432,000 barrels per day between the two countries after Madrid backed petroleum product levies
(bpd) in April. a Moroccan autonomy plan for the Western
Libya, which was once one of OPEC’s largest Sahara. The South African government says that it
producers, is currently extracting only around The country loaded an average of 389,000 is to sell millions of barrels of strategic crude
1mn bpd. In 2021, output levels averaged around bpd in March despite the closure of the ports oil reserves as it tries to recoup the ZAR6bn
1.15mn bpd. of Arzew and Bejaia for some days due to unfa- ($140mn) tax revenue that has been sacrificed
The country’s main oilfields have witnessed vourable weather conditions. The amount is to mitigate against rising fuel prices, IOL reports.
The sale of oil reserves is the first since the
government sold 10mn barrels of oil to private
companies at heavily discounted prices between
December 2015 and January 2016.
The National Treasury and the Department
of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE)
released a joint statement announcing measures
to provide short term relief to consumers and
reduce fuel prices over the medium term.
According to the statement, a “two-phase
approach” has been agreed on, consisting of an
immediate intervention for the next two months
and a package of measures to reduce prices
thereafter.

P18 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 14 06•April•2022