Technical problems delay reopening of Libyan oil port

Technical problems have delayed the reopening of Libya's eastern Zueitina oil export terminal after the government reached a deal with rebels to end an eight-month blockade of the port, a minister said on April 20, Reuters has reported.

Two weeks ago, the Tripoli government reached an agreement with rebels in the restive east to end their occupation of four oil ports which had halted vital exports. Under the plan, the Hariga and Zueitina ports were due to open immediately while the larger Ras Lanuf and Es Sider terminals would resume oil exports within a month.

But justice minister Salah al-Merghani said Hariga port located in Tobruk in the far east would be the only one to start operations due to technical problems at Zueitina. "There is some damage (at Zueitina port) due to the long closure," Merghani told a televised news conference from the eastern city of Benghazi. He declined to give a date for the resumption of oil exports from the 70,000 barrels-per-day port or for the Ras Lanuf and Es Sider ports.

Copyright: Reuters, 2014