Libya's Es Sider port could resume exports this month

Libya's Es Sider terminal could resume exports of its namesake crude by the end of this month, just days after restarting operations.

The Aframax Nissos Serifos is set to pick up Es Sider crude from the Es Sider terminal around 27 October, according to shipping sources. Vortexa data shows the vessel is heading for Es Sider and is due to arrive around 28 October.

This comes after Libya's state-owned NOC removed force majeure (FM) restrictions from the port and the neighbouring Ras Lanuf port on 23 October .

Ras Lanuf and Es Sider were Libya's last port outlets to resume operations following a landmark deal to restart oil flows, struck between Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) and the rival UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in mid-September .

Forces affiliated with the LNA had largely blockaded all eastern terminals and western crude oil fields since January. NOC had been hesitating to lift FM from Ras Lanuf and Es Sider because of the ongoing presence of mercenaries — including Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Sudanese and Syrian fighters — on the premises. All foreign mercenaries must now leave Libya within 90 days of a LNA-GNA permanent ceasefire agreement that was signed on 23 October.

The abrupt resumption of Es Sider port operations and the prompt availability of crude means that the order in which volumes are exported, as well as their vessels and charterers, could still change. If the Nissos Serifos ' journey materialises, it will be the first cargo to leave the port since July when a brief suspension of the blockades allowed the Kriti Bastion to depart with around 650,000 bl from storage. Es Sider shipments have otherwise been suspended since January.

NOC has instructed both Waha Oil and Harouge Oil — which operate fields that supply the crudes exported from Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, respectively — to prepare for the resumption of production. A Waha Oil source and a Libyan shipping source say that the company could delay its output restart until more crude is first shipped out of Es Sider tanks, in order to free them up to store fresh supplies.

The Zawia terminal, which ships out the Esharara crude grade that is Libya's second-largest export stream, is also preparing to load its first crude cargo since January. Vortexa data showed that the Socar-chartered Aframax Aegean Nobility has arrived at the port. Trade sources said it was set to pick up its cargo over 25-27 October.

By Ruxandra Iordache

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