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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
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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.

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UK Banks Brace for Possible Tax Rise as Budget Nears

Barclays and HSBC buildings are seen in London, Britain October 20, 2020. REUTERS/Matthew Childs
Barclays and HSBC buildings are seen in London, Britain October 20, 2020. REUTERS/Matthew Childs
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UK Banks Brace for Possible Tax Rise as Budget Nears

Barclays and HSBC buildings are seen in London, Britain October 20, 2020. REUTERS/Matthew Childs
Barclays and HSBC buildings are seen in London, Britain October 20, 2020. REUTERS/Matthew Childs

UK-based banks are stepping up lobbying efforts against possible tax hikes in the government's inaugural Budget on October 30, amid mounting worries it may tap the cash-rich sector to boost Britain's finances, senior industry sources told Reuters.
Finance minister Rachel Reeves is due to meet senior representatives of the banking sector in the coming days, where bankers expect a rise in taxes on lenders' profits will be discussed, two of the sources said.
So far neither Prime Minister Keir Starmer nor Reeves has said banks will be required to pay higher taxes, but Starmer's recent reference to the burden falling on those with “broader shoulders” has fueled concerns a policy change might be imminent, three sources said.
The sources, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, said they anticipate the Treasury will seek to hike taxes by increasing an existing surcharge on profits that lenders already pay.
This plan would be easier for the finance minister to achieve than cutting the amount of interest UK banks earn on reserves parked at the Bank of England, a measure which could distort the effects of its monetary policy, the sources said.
HSBC, Britain's largest bank, posted a 78% rise in 2023 pretax profit to $30.3 billion pounds in February and domestic peers including NatWest Group and Barclays have posted similarly bumper returns.
According to the sources, UK banks are already taxed more aggressively than many other international rivals, and increasing the sector's costs via taxes could have an impact on the cost and availability of credit, the sources said.
The existing UK bank levy was introduced in 2011 to curb a crisis-era culture of excessive risk and reckless growth across the industry in the wake of the global financial crisis.
Shares in UK banks dipped briefly last week after the Financial Times quoted an unnamed former government official making the case for a “sensibly crafted” levy on banks that have enjoyed bumper profits on the back of higher interest rates.