Tanker docks at Libyan port held by rebels
A TANKER docked in Libya’s rebel-held port of Marsa el-Hariga late last night to load a shipment of oil for export, the first in almost three weeks.
The delivery will be only a tiny fraction of Libya’s pre-crisis exports of about 1.6 million barrels a day, but is viewed by analysts as a symbolic step forward.
“The significance is not only that this is the first shipment in 18 days, but also a signal that Libya is open to international trade and shipping,” said Michelle Wiese Bockmann, Lloyd’s List markets editor, who said the Equator would load today.
London-based Lloyd’s said the Equator was capable of carrying about a million barrels of crude oil, worth about $US100 million.
The conflict in Libya caused crude exports from the country, 17th among the world oil producers, to dwindle to a trickle, sparking a surge in global oil prices. Benchmark crude was trading at about $US108 ($104) a barrel last night.