Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi faces a fourth month without receiving gasoline cargoes by sea as motorists wait in line at filling stations in the capital.
Rebels opposing Gaddafi received three to four cargoes of gasoline a month in June and July while the leader got none, according to two traders, one shipowner, one analyst and one shipbroker surveyed. The rebels received about four cargoes in May and Gaddafi got none. That compares with eight cargoes in a normal month before an uprising erupted in February, they said.
“International sanctions and the tight monitoring of Libya’s waters by the NATO-led alliance have so far been very successful in denying the regime access to imported fuel cargoes, a situation which will not change over the coming month,” said Samuel Ciszuk, senior Middle East and North Africa energy analyst at researcher IHS Energy Group U.K. Ltd.
Libya’s refineries produced 5.2 million metric tons of diesel and gasoline in 2008, according to the International Energy Agency, a Paris-based adviser to industrialized nations. The plants will probably process no more than 90,000 barrels of oil a day this summer, compared with the usual 370,000 barrels, the IEA said in a report in May.
“The economic pressure on Qaddafi is tremendous,” Ciszuk said. “Qaddafi has to prioritize fuel for his military forces to survive.”
650,000 Cars
One gasoline shipment comprises about 34 million liters (9 million gallons) of the car fuel, enough to fill about 650,000 vehicles.
The fuel’s scarcity may be causing longer waiting times for motorists in Tripoli, said Alan Fraser, a security analyst at AKE Group Ltd. in London, citing contacts in the Libyan city. The capital is held by Qaddafi’s regime, while the rebels control the eastern port city of Benghazi.
“Queues are reportedly getting worse in Tripoli,” Fraser said. “I’ve heard reports of up to five days. In Benghazi, I’ve never heard of fuel shortages being a major issue.”
Libyan crude production fell to 100,000 barrels a day last month, compared with an average of 1.55 million in 2010, according to data.
No comments:
Post a Comment