An oil tanker left the Libyan port of Ras Lanuf for Italy early on Wednesday with the first crude export cargo from the terminal since at least late 2014, the port manager said.
He said a second tanker was preparing to load at Ras Lanuf, one of four ports seized on Sept. 11-12 by eastern Libyan forces loyal to military leader Khalifa Haftar, Reuters reported.
Reopening Ras Lanuf for exports could be a major advance for the United Nations-backed government in Tripoli as it works to extend its influence to unite rival armed factions and stabilize the economy. Armed conflict and disputes have left Libya's oil installations under the control of different factions and significantly cut output from the 1.6 million per day it produced before an uprising toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Libya has boosted crude production by more than 70% since August as some oilfields resumed output and other oil ports also reopened for their first overseas loadings in more than two years.
The nation’s crude output rose to 450,000 barrels a day, Ibrahim Al-Awami, head of oil measurement department at state-run National Oil Corp., said by phone on Tuesday. Production was 260,000 barrels a day last month, data compiled by Bloomberg shows.
