Repairs have been finished on a Libyan oil pipeline damaged in a suspected attack five days ago and production is restarting gradually, engineers said.
The blast and resulting fire on Tuesday about 130 km (80 miles) south of the Es Sider terminal caused a drop in output estimated by the National Oil Corporation (NOC) at 70,000-100,000 barrels per day (bbl/d).
An engineer from the company that operates the pipeline, Waha Oil Co, said damaged parts had been replaced and flows would start returning to previous levels. A second engineer said that some checks and testing would be necessary as production resumed.
An engineer at Es Sider confirmed that oil was flowing through the line and that two tankers were docked at the port waiting to load about 630,000 barrels of oil each.
The engineers asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Oil workers on Saturday had posted pictures on social media of new sections of pipeline being laid at the site of Tuesday's incident.
Waha, an NOC subsidiary, has blamed a "terrorist attack" for the incident, without giving details. The NOC says it is investigating what happened.
Recommended Reading
Worley CEO: Combative Politics Complicating Regulations, Incentives
2024-09-20 - From LNG to direct air capture, Chris Ashton, CEO of Worley, said economic incentives aren’t “on a pace and scale that are necessary for us to move things forward.”
RNG Producer OPAL Recovers 25% of Capex from Tax Credits Sale
2024-09-19 - OPAL Fuels, which sold tax credits for $11.1 million, indicated that its capex for the Emerald RNG facility is approximately $45 million, according TPH & Co.
New FERC Commissioner Calls Slow Permitting Process ‘Huge Problem’
2024-09-17 - FERC Commissioner David Rosner said the commission is aware that the permitting process is too slow overall at Gastech Houston 2024.
Industry Warns Ruling Could Disrupt GoM Oil, Gas Production
2024-09-12 - The energy industry slammed a reversal on a 2020 biological opinion that may potentially put an indefinite stop to oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico—by December.
What's Affecting Oil Prices This Week? (Sept. 9, 2024)
2024-09-09 - Within the context of lower oil prices and disappointing economic data, members of OPEC+ have decided to delay the unwinding of voluntary cuts, which were expected at the end of September.