Crude oil prices plunge over expectations for less demand during the pandemic just as more supply from Libya becomes available.
Libya's National Oil Company has said it expected oil production to rise to 260,000 barrels per day (bpd) next week, as the OPEC member looks to revive its oil industry, crippled by a blockade since January.
Oil prices fell around 5 percent on Monday, partly due to the potential return of Libyan barrels to a market that's already grappling with the prospect of collapsing demand from rising coronavirus cases.
Libya produced around 1.2 million bpd, over 1 percent of global production, before the blockade, which slashed the OPEC member's output to around 100,000 bpd.
It was unclear how quickly Libya could ramp up production.
Exports resume
NOC, in a statement late on Monday, said it is preparing to resume exports from "secure ports" with oil tankers expected to begin arriving from Wednesday to load crude in storage over the next 72 hours.
As an initial step, exports are set to resume from the Marsa El Hariga and Brega oil terminals, it said.
The Marlin Shikoku tanker is making its way to Hariga where it is expected to load cargo for trader Unipec, according to shipping data and traders.
Warlord Khalifa Haftar said last week his militias would lift their eight-month blockade of oil exports.....MORE
NOC insists it will only resume oil operations at facilities devoid of military presence....
...It [Goldman Sachs] expects a 400,000 bpd increase in Libyan production by December....
There is no free press left in Turkey and TRT is the national public broadcaster and Turkey has troops on the ground in Libya so take everything here with a grain of salt.
