Nine tankers have been booked so far to load about 1 million barrels a day of crude oil in Libya next week, according to data from Poten & Partners Inc.
The ships have been chartered to pick up 970,000 metric tons, the equivalent of about 7.1 million barrels, the New York- based shipbroker’s figures show. That’s up from 375,000 tons in the week ended Feb. 4. Libya’s state-run National Oil Corp. planned to export 12.7 million barrels of crude in the week to today, according to Ahmed El-Mihoub, a marketing official in Tripoli.
The absence of Libyan production helped crude traded in London reach a 2011 high of $127.02 a barrel in April. The benchmark Brent grade has since dropped 12 percent to $112.31. The resumption of the nation’s supply has been followed by Iran’s threat to block the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf passageway for about 20 percent of globally traded oil, renewing supply concerns.
The following table shows weekly charters for crude cargoes from Libya, according to Poten. Cargo size is expressed in metric tons. Some cargoes are shipped under long-term freight contracts and don’t appear in lists of vessel bookings.
Ship name Load Date Destination Cargo Size Reef Feb. 21 China 130,000 Total week ending Feb. 25 130,000 Total week ending Feb. 18 0 Libya Feb. 5 Singapore 130,000 CE-Merapi Feb. 6 Italy 80,000 Wilana Feb. 7 China 130,000 Unknown Feb. 7 Spain 80,000 RBD Gino Ferretti Feb. 7 Mediterranean 80,000 17 February Feb. 8 Asia 130,000 Zallaq Feb. 11 China 130,000 Unknown Feb. 11 Northwest Europe 80,000 Yasa Polaris Feb. 11 China 130,000 Total week ending Feb. 11 970,000 Rich Duchess II Jan. 29 Northwest Europe 80,000 Donat Jan. 31 U.S. 135,000 Unknown Feb. 2 Spain 80,000 NS Century Feb. 4 Mediterranean 80,000 Total week ending Feb. 4 375,000 Total week to Jan. 28 330,000 Total week to Jan. 21 630,000 Total week to Jan. 14 290,000 Total week to Jan. 7 450,000
(Source: Bloomberg)
