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Libyas crude production rebounded to about 660,000 barrels a day as the OPEC nations biggest oil field resumed output after about a week of disruption.

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Force majeure on the Zawiya export terminal was lifted after pumping resumed Sunday at Sharara, the nations biggest oil field, Mustafa Sanalla, chairman of Libyas state-run National Oil Corp., said Monday by phone. Libyas overall production is 660,000 barrels a day, according to a person familiar with the matter who isnt authorized to speak to the media and asked not to be identified. Libyas output had dropped to about 500,000 barrels a day last week when production was halted at Sharara, according to the same person.

Libya, with Africas largest oil reserves, is struggling to recover from years of conflict between rival governments and militias. Its production was exempted from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries production cuts, because of its internal strife. Some OPEC members and non-members are calling for the production cuts to be extended beyond June.

"With the lifting, its positive for oil exports out of Libya, Michael Poulsen, oil risk manager at A/S Global Risk Management Ltd. in Middelfart, Denmark, said by phone. "The assumption is that it will continue into the foreseeable future, he said, cautioning that the security situation is not 100 percent resolved."

Libyas increased oil output would have a bearish effect, but right now the market is more focused on potential extended cuts by OPEC, he said.

Libyas NOC had declared force majeure on Sharara crude last Tuesday, a clause which relieves it from delivery obligations due to circumstances outside its control. The same restrictions are in still place for loadings from the Wafa oil field and the Mellitah export terminal, Sanalla said. Shararas production resumed Sunday, with output at 160,000 barrels a day, according to the person familiar.

Libya has sought to boost crude exports after fighting among rival militias hobbled oil production following the overthrow in 2011 of Moammar Al Qaddafi. The conflict showed signs of calming in recent months, with oil output rising from as little as 260,000 barrels a day in August, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Libya pumped 1.6 million barrels daily before Qaddafis ouster.

The vessel Minerva Kythnos, currently north of Malta, will arrive at 11 p.m. Tuesday to load 700,000 barrels of Sharara crude at Zawiya, according to three people familiar with shipments from the port.

Sharara, which was producing 221,000 barrels a day before the halt, is operated by a joint venture between NOC and Repsol SA, Total SA, OMV AG and Statoil ASA. The fields total capacity is 330,000 barrels a day. The Eni SpA-developed Wafa oil field, further to the west near the Algerian border, has capacity to produce about 35,000 barrels a day.

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Libya's Oil Production Set to Rebound as Biggest Field ...

President Trump prayed for "God's wisdom" on Thursday night while announcing the U.S. bombing of a Syrian airfield. We're not in the position to provide that, but here's man's wisdom, which should be crystal clear to anyone who has lived through the past two decades:

A war to take out Syrian President Bashar Assad would be a disastrous folly that would endanger American security, aid the Islamic State and al Qaeda, and may not make the innocents in Syria any safer.

Trump needs to reject the voices in Congress and the media calling for regime change, and find a way to limit his military strikes as narrowly as possible to his stated goal of deterring Assad's chemical attacks. And if Trump wants to keep the threat of future strikes in his quiver, he should immediately seek a congressional authorization.

Assad is an evil and murderous dictator. That doesn't mean the world will be better off if we kill him or depose him by force. Recall that Saddam Hussein and Moammar Gadhafi were evil and murderous dictators.

George W. Bush's regime change in Iraq was a mistake. It destabilized the region, empowered and emboldened Iran, aided al Qaeda, and created an environment where the Islamic State could flourish and grow. The war cost thousands of American lives, hundreds of billions of American dollars, and all of President Bush's political capital.

We took out something bad, and something worse took its place. Then we got bogged down in years of deadly, costly, ugly nation-building.

Barack Obama's regime change in Libya was also a mistake. First, it trampled the Constitution because he never sought congressional authorization. As in Iraq, decapitating Libya created a vacuum into which all sorts of terrorist and militants swarmed.

Obama didn't do the lengthy costly nation-building. He just cut and run from Libya. The country became a safe haven and a recruiting ground for the Islamic State. The chaos, the weapons and the Islamic State spread from Libya into surrounding countries. Again, taking out something bad made room for something worse.

It's not guesswork or pessimism to say a similar thing would happen in Syria. We know who would rush in to fill the void if we eliminated the Assad regime, because they are already perched right there on the doorstep of Damascus: the Islamic State and al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra.

Also from the Washington Examiner

President Obama's former deputy national security adviser indicated Saturday that he isn't very happy with President Trump's decision to hit a Syrian air base with missiles.

Trump's missile strike, which was retaliation for Syria's use of chemical weapons, drew instant comparisons to Obama, who warned the U.S. would act if Syria used chemical weapons.

Obama did nothing after Syria crossed that "red line" of Obama's, and many said Trump was the one to finally enforce Obama's ultimatum years later.

But in an early Saturday morning tweet, Rhodes suggested that Trump's strike was only aimed at boosting his press coverage, and seemed to warn reporters against helping him achieve this.

04/08/17 4:04 PM

The experience in Iraq should show us how unlikely we are to successfully install a friendly or liberal government in place of Assad. We have no idea what the appetite amongst Syrians for such a government, or what a "popular government" in Syria would look like. Given the raging civil war, pervasive sectarianism, Russian involvement, ubiquitous weapons, and multiple terrorist groups, Syria is even more complicated than Iraq was.

United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley spoke prudently when she said, "We are prepared to do more, but hope that won't be necessary."

This is a reasonable stance (and it may in the end prove wise), but it raises another pressing question: legality. If Trump wants to maintain the threat to strike Syria's military if the regime uses chemical weapons again, he must seek congressional approval.

Seeking congressional authorization would allow a debate, which is fitting in a democracy. It wouldn't tip our hand (a constant concern of Trump's), but instead would stand as an ultimatum.

Time will tell if Thursday's Tomahawk strike and Trump's pledge to retaliate against chemical weapons use is wise and effective. But when the question of regime change comes up, time already has told us how that will turn out.

Also from the Washington Examiner

Trump defended the strike as a way to defend the "vital national security and foreign policy."

04/08/17 2:55 PM

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In Syria, heed the lessons of Libya and Iraq: Forgo regime change, seek congressional authorization - Washington Examiner

The gas and fuel crisis commission of the Government of National Accord (GNA) has launched The Storm of the Mediterranean operation that aims to end fuel and gas smuggling from Libya.

According to the commission, the operation will be conducted by the naval forces and air force of the Libyan government.

The Libyan warplanes will help spot the oil vessels in the Libyan waters and then the Libyan naval forces will intercept them. The commission added, saying this operation will be conducted to help end the shameful theft of the Libyans fortunes and resources.

The gas and fuel commission said it is waiting to receive every Libyans support for the operation as it will target ending the squandering of their fortunes by those smuggling gangs.

The new operation will target the smugglers who are stealing Libyas fuel and gas. the deputy head of the Presidential Council, Ahmed Mitig commented.

Once the operations forces intercept the smuggling vessels and ships, they will seize the ships and vessels at Libyan ports. The crisis commission added.

More:
Gas and fuel crisis commission in Libya begins new operation to end fuel smuggling - Libyan Express

Several members of the House of Representatives (HoR) in Tobruk have called for an immediate no-fly zone in southern Libya.

"There should be a no-fly zone resolution that can protect the civilians and to ban all parties from using warplanes in the southern region." The members urged in a statement on Friday.

The statement also called for a swift and quick ceasefire in Timnahent district, adding that all the forces that engaged in recent clashes in there must return to their locations to avoid military escalation.

"An operations room, that would contain military and police personnel from the south to secure the military institutions and the state civil institutions as well, should be formed." The statement indicates.

The HoR members also shouldered the parties that started off the fight around the Timnahent airbase the legal and moral responsibility of any damaged that had happened.

"We call on the local and international legal organizations to monitor the violations that have been made against civilians and to bring the perpetrators to Libyan and international courts." The statement adds.

Last Wednesday, Dignity Operation fighter aircraft started bombing locations around Tamnihent airbase in the southern city of Sabha.

Jamal Al-Treki, the Third Force's commander, who also confirmed that the force's fighters engaged in heavy clashes with Pro-Haftar armed groups led by Mohammed Ben Nayel - a staunch follower of Khalifa Haftar.

Later, the Operations Room of the Presidential Council's air force disclosed that their warplanes responded to the air attacks of Dignity Operation on the Third Force locations and the air force personnel in Timnahent air base by two airstrikes targeting the warplanes of the Haftar-led Dignity Operation that are positioned in Barak Al-Sahtea airbase.

More here:
HoR members urge for no-fly zone in southern Libya - The Libya Observer

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Benghazi Defense Brigades said they would hand over Jufra Airbase in central Libya to the General Staff of Armed Forces of "UN-installed Presidency Council." The BDB added their forces have been relocated in other camps, which they did not specify. They also confirmed that their battle against Dignity Operation forces would continue until they return to Benghazi.

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The National Oil Corporation (NOC) and the Banque Marocaine du Commerce Extrieur (BMCE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate in banking services delivered to the NOC, investigations, projects funding, and other research and financial studies related to businesses that wish to register at the NOC.

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The UN-proposed government's financial minister, Osama Hamid, and France's financial and economy minister, Michel Sapin, discussed partially lifting the freezing of Libyan assets to cover the expected deficit in the 2017 budget. The meeting came on the sidelines of (5+5) ministerial meeting for financial ministers in Malta.

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The UN-proposed government's interior minister, Aref Al-Khouja met in Tunisia with the Canadian ambassador to Libya, David Sproule, on the margins of the 43th Arab interior ministers meeting. They both discussed cooperation in training, development projects, security procedures in Libya and other issues of mutual interests.

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Libyan commerce and development bank denied the rumors that said it had gone bankrupt, vowing to sue those who spread such a rumor. It added that it is trying to do whatever it takes to solve the cash crisis via electronic services (Pay for me and touristic checks) provided to citizens and businesspersons alike, reaching about a quarter of a billion dinars

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The spokesman of Al-Bunyan Al-Marsoos, Mohammed Al-Ghasri, has confirmed that the escaping IS militants who managed to leave Sirte after it had been liberated have been spotted in southern Libya. Al-Ghasri added that their forces will bring those diehards down sooner than later, adding that they are trying to regroup in the south.

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GECOL has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU with METKA Group from Greece in the presence of the US firm GE that aims at implementing Tobruk power plant with four turbine units (736 megawatts). The contract is going to be signed in the few coming days in Tobruk city. The new power plant aims to alleviate the suffering of the eastern region, where long hours of power outage continue to take place day in and day out.

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News Roundup - Sat, Apr 8, 2017 - The Libya Observer