Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) declared force majeure on crude exports from its oil terminals amid continued blockades of production and ports, which have severely crippled Libya’s oil exports. The force majeure comes after weeks of protests and closures amid the new rift in Libya’s political class over who should be governing the country. Bashaga, backed by the east-based Parliament, is now based in Sirte in the east of Libya, while Dbeibah is based in Tripoli. Earlier this week, NOC said it was considering declaring force majeure within 72 hours unless production and shipment of oil resume in the Gulf of Sirte, which hosts the oil export terminals of Zueitina, Brega, Ras Lanuf, and Es Sider. The new outage in Libya comes as the market grapples with the loss of Russian oil supply due to the Western sanctions on Moscow, and could further tighten the physical market.
