Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) has issued a tender to buy gasoil, fuel oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for delivery in February, traders said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, prior negotiations for the supply of up to 3 million tonnes each of gasoil, gasoline and fuel oil in 2012 are still underway, according to traders.
Traders said in late December the tender process was being held up by plans to swap exports of crude oil for as much as half of Libya's heavy oil product requirements for the year.
"That 3 mln tonnes never really materialised, so now all of a sudden they need volumes for February," said an oil industry source.
Plans to restart Libya's largest 220,000 barrel per day (bpd) Ras Lanuf refinery have been pushed back repeatedly.
Recently, Libya's NOC said the plant would resume operating around March, while the latest estimate by its joint venture partner was that processing would resume "within months".
The Ras Lanuf refinery accounts for well over half of the country's oil processing capacity.
(Source: Reuters)
