Oil Tanker Approved for Entry into Libya's Zueitina Port

A general view of Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Company in Ras Lanuf, Libya, August 28, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Al-Hadad
A general view of Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Company in Ras Lanuf, Libya, August 28, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Al-Hadad
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Oil Tanker Approved for Entry into Libya's Zueitina Port

A general view of Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Company in Ras Lanuf, Libya, August 28, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Al-Hadad
A general view of Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Company in Ras Lanuf, Libya, August 28, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Al-Hadad

Oil tanker Kriti Samaria has been approved for entry into Libya's Zueitina port on Thursday evening or Friday to load 600,000 barrels of crude oil and will head to Italy, engineers told Reuters.

The tanker will be permitted to load oil from storage, the engineers said, without providing further detail.

Libya's two legislative chambers said on Tuesday they had agreed a mechanism for resolving the dispute over control of the central bank.
Libyan crude exports have been largely shut for more than a week amid a political showdown over control of the central bank, which is the sole legal depository for Libyan oil revenue and pays state salaries across the country.
Another tanker, the Front Jaguar, was loading crude from storage at Libya's Brega port, engineers told Reuters on Wednesday.

The crisis was triggered when western factions moved on Aug. 18 to oust veteran central bank governor Sadiq al-Kabir, who has since fled the country. Eastern factions responded by declaring a shutdown to all oil output on Aug. 26.
The National Oil Corporation, which oversees the country's oil resources, said on Aug. 28 that total oil output had dropped by more than half from typical levels to just over 590,000 bpd. It was not immediately clear where current production stood.
A member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Libya produced about 1.18 million barrels per day of crude in July, according to OPEC, citing secondary sources.



Egypt Aims to Restore Normal Output at Gas Fields by Summer 2025

Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, speaks during the World Governments Summit, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 12, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, speaks during the World Governments Summit, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 12, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Egypt Aims to Restore Normal Output at Gas Fields by Summer 2025

Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, speaks during the World Governments Summit, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 12, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, speaks during the World Governments Summit, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 12, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Egypt aims to restore normal production at its natural gas fields by next summer, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Thursday.

Madbouly told a news conference that production had fallen because of the arrears, but did not say how much the government owed nor when it might be repaid.

Sources told Reuters in March that the government had set aside up to $1.5 billion for payments to foreign oil and gas companies operating in the country. The arrears built up during a long-running foreign currency shortage that has since eased.

Egypt has been grappling with power shortages amid high demand for cooling systems in the summer. The country generates most of its electricity from burning natural gas.

The government halted load-shedding power cuts in July after some natural gas shipments arrived.

"Electricity load-shedding cuts won't return again," Madbouly said, adding the government had set aside $2.5 billion to ensure that.

He said there were also plans to bring an Egypt-Saudi power grid link online in a first phase by the summer of 2025.