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
Enbridge Plans to Increase Permian Oil Pipeline’s Capacity
2024-05-10 - Midstream company Enbridge announced an open season on the Gray Oak Pipeline for a proposed 120,000 bbl/d expansion and updated its M&A efforts.
Energy Transfer Remains Hungry for M&A, Sees 1Q Oil Volumes Surge
2024-05-09 - Energy Transfer reported record first-quarter crude volumes and expects demand for petrochemicals to continue rising.
Energy Transfer Eyes Draft Environmental Statement for Blue Marlin Project This Quarter
2024-05-09 - Energy Transfer is among several firms vying to build deepwater ports along the Texas Gulf Coast.
‘Oversupplied’ NatGas Market Aiding Williams’ Storage Business
2024-05-08 - Midstream company Williams saw overall demand growth as heavy gas volumes passed through its network.
Tallgrass Declares Open Season for CO2 Transport Pipeline
2024-05-06 - Tallgrass Energy’s Trailblazer project, originally a natural gas pipeline, would move greenhouse gas from Nebraska and Colorado and store it in geological formations in Wyoming.