Libya resumes crude oil exports after 3-months hiatus

Libya resumed oil exports on Wednesday, ending a hiatus that lasted months.

The resumption came after the country restarted production at oil fields following the firing of the chairman of the state-run oil corporation by one of the country’s rival governments.

A Malta-flagged tanker, Matala, docked at the al-Sidra terminal to ship one million barrels of crude oil, the new leadership of the National Oil Corporation (NOC).  The vessel will then head to Italy, it said.

Two other tankers, the Marshall Islands-flagged Nissos Sifnos and the Liberia-flagged Crudemed, were scheduled to ship 1.6 million barrels on Wednesday from the terminals of Zueitina Ras Lanuf, according to the NOC.

Mohamed Hamouda, a Government of National Unity spokesperson, said exports had been going "smoothly" and were "increasing continuously" throughout the day.

Last week, the NOC lifted a force majeure which was declared in April at several oil facilities after tribal leaders, aligned with powerful commander Khalifa Hifter, shut them down.

A force majeure clause is commonly found in legal contracts, enabling the parties to relieve themselves of contractual obligations due to extraordinary circumstances.

Production was resumed on Tuesday at several fields including the Sharara, the county’s largest, after three months of closure, the NOC announced.

The closures caused Libya's daily output of oil to drop by two-thirds.  The country's production was at 1.2 billion barrels a day, earlier this year.