Glencore set to move Libya crude oil

Commodities trader Glencore is planning to lift its first cargo of Libyan crude oil since production resumed there, trade sources said yesterday, in a further sign of recovery despite continued fighting.

Competition to buy the oil, absent from the spot market for months, has heated up following the easing of sanctions against Libya’s National Oil Corporation in mid-September.

Trading firm Vitol and US major ConocoPhillips have been among the early buyers of Libya’s light, sweet Sarir grade crude sourced from eastern fields.

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Glencore’s 600,000 barrel tanker, the NS Creation, was due to arrive in Tobruk today for loading, according to live ship tracking data AIS.

Its load is worth a nominal $65m based on current Brent oil prices near $109 a barrel.

The tanker’s destination port was not immediately known but trade sources said that it was set to be exported.

A Glencore spokesman declined to give an official comment.

Industry sources said in September that the commodities giant signed a fuels deal with the transitional government (NTC), as traders began vying for contracts with the country’s new leaders.

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So far, four cargoes carrying around 2.5 million barrels have been exported from Libya since oil production began in early September.

While this is still just a fraction of pre-war export levels, Libya’s economic lifeline is recovering faster than some analysts expected even though pockets of territory are still held by Colonel Gaddafi loyal-ists.