Libya resumed oil exports from its western Mellitah port after months of protests shut down the port and stopped most crude production in the country.
The Berber minority seized the Mellitah oil facilities three days ago but have ended their protest.
The Mellitah complex is operated by Italy’s Eni and Libya’s state-owned National Oil Corp. (NOC).
Protests started in July and crippled production, throwing Libya’s economy into a tailspin. NOC declared force majeure on offtake agreements during the summer.
A spokesman for NOC told Reuters the situation at Mellitah is now normal.
“Shipping sources and Reuters AIS Live ship tracking data showed that the LR2 Poseidon had loaded crude from Mellitah on Monday. Another tanker, the Stealth Haralambos, was loading at the terminal on Tuesday, trading sources and tracking showed,” Reuters said.
NOC’s spokesman said production from the El Feel field should be back over 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) this week. The field has a capacity of 130,000 bpd.
Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdel Aziz said the disruptions at oil and gas facilities was costing Libya up to $130m a day in lost revenue.
Libya’s economy will shrink at least 5.1% this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.
The southern El Sharara field, which supplies crude for export at Zawiya terminal and for the 120,000 bpd Zawiya refinery, is still blocked, Reuters said Tuesday.
