Generic Hero BannerGeneric Hero Banner
Latest market news

Libya lifts force majeure as oil blockade ends

  • : Crude oil
  • 24/10/03

Libya has begun to ramp up crude production after state-owned NOC lifted force majeure on all fields and terminals today.

This should restore Libya's crude production to more than 1.2mn b/d, from an estimated 500,000 b/d.

NOC declared force majeure after much of Libya's output was forced offline by a blockade imposed by the country's eastern-based administration in late August. Libya's eastern-based parliament earlier this week approved an agreement to resolve a leadership crisis at the central bank, which had prompted the blockade.

NOC also lifted force majeure at the El Sharara oil field, which was shut down before the blockade. Output at the field, which normally produces about 260,000-270,000 b/d, has started, a source told Argus.


Related news posts

Argus illuminates the markets by putting a lens on the areas that matter most to you. The market news and commentary we publish reveals vital insights that enable you to make stronger, well-informed decisions. Explore a selection of news stories related to this one.

25/03/12

Opec sticks to demand forecasts despite trade tensions

Opec sticks to demand forecasts despite trade tensions

London, 12 March (Argus) — Opec has kept its oil demand growth forecasts unchanged for both 2025 and 2026 on expectations that the global economy will adjust to volatile trade policies. US president Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on various goods arriving in the US from China, Mexico and Canada, as well as on all imports of steel and aluminium. Some countries have retaliated with tariffs of their own on US imports, raising the prospect of a full-blown trade war. But Opec is confident that the global economy can adapt. "Price pressures may weigh on global growth but are unlikely to disrupt overall growth momentum, which remains supported by resilient consumer demand and strong output in major emerging economies," Opec said in its latest Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR). Opec also said that rising trade among emerging economies could partially offset tariff-related disruptions, but it warned that "downside risks need to be monitored given uncertainties in policy rollout and subsequent effects and impacts". Despite the uncertainty, Opec kept its oil demand forecast for this year and next unchanged for the second month in a row. For this year, the group sees oil demand growing by 1.45mn b/d to 105.2mn b/d, while in 2026 it sees consumption increasing by 1.43mn b/d to 106.63mn b/d. Opec's demand growth forecasts remain somewhat higher than those projected by the IEA and the US' EIA. In terms of supply, the group kept its non-Opec+ liquids growth forecast unchanged at 1mn b/d for both 2025 and 2026, with most of this growth seen coming from the US, Brazil and Canada. Opec+ crude production — including Mexico — rose by 363,000 b/d to 41.011mn b/d in February, according to an average of secondary sources that includes Argus . Opec puts the call on Opec+ crude at 42.6mn b/d in 2025 and 42.9mn b/d in 2026, unchanged from last month. Eight members of the wider Opec+ alliance earlier this month agreed to start increasing crude output from April, citing "healthy market fundamentals and the positive market outlook". By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US, Canada to meet Thursday on USMCA


25/03/11
25/03/11

US, Canada to meet Thursday on USMCA

Houston, 11 March (Argus) — US and Canadian officials will meet later this week to begin discussing an update to the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) free trade agreement. In posts on social media Tuesday afternoon, US secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Ontario premier Doug Ford said they would meet on 13 March "... to discuss a renewed USMCA ahead of the April 2 reciprocal tariff deadline." In response, Ontario has agreed to suspend its 25pc surcharge on exports of electricity to Michigan, New York and Minnesota. Ford and Lutnick talked by phone on Tuesday following US president Donald Trump's threats to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum . Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Trump to declare power 'emergency' in some states


25/03/11
25/03/11

Trump to declare power 'emergency' in some states

Washington, 11 March (Argus) — President Donald Trump said today he intends to declare a "National Emergency on Electricity" in states that could be affected by Ontario's imposition of a 25pc surcharge on electricity exports and further threat to cut off exports entirely. The emergency declaration will allow the US to alleviate the "abusive threat" from losing electricity imports from Canada, Trump wrote in a post on social media. Trump said in response to the surcharge, he would double existing tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum , and warned Canada that it would pay a high cost if Ontario cuts off the flow of electricity to the US. "Can you imagine Canada stooping so low as to use ELECTRICITY, that so affects the life of innocent people, as a bargaining chip and threat?" Trump wrote. "They will pay a financial price for this so big that it will be read about in History Books for many years to come!" On Monday, Ontario put a 25pc fee on its electricity exports to New York, Michigan and Minnesota in response to Trump's tariffs on Canada. Ontario premier Doug Ford said he was applying "maximum pressure" on the US over its tariff war, and threatened to cut off exports entirely if Trump increased tariffs further. Ontario was the largest exporter of electricity to the US in 2023, sending 15.2 TWh to the US. Trump already declared a national energy emergency on 20 January, unlocking emergency authorities to fast-track permitting and seek to retain production of baseload power plants. Trump has yet to offer more details on the electricity emergency, but the US Department of Energy (DOE) can issue emergency orders that would allow power plants to run at maximum capacity or waive some environmental regulations. DOE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The New York Independent System Operator, which runs the state's electric grid, said it was analyzing the effects of Ontario's orders and expects to have "adequate reserves to meet reliability criteria and forecast demand for New York." By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Oil sector climate 'problem' is resolved: Al-Jaber


25/03/11
25/03/11

Oil sector climate 'problem' is resolved: Al-Jaber

Houston, 11 March (Argus) — Adnoc chief executive Sultan al-Jaber, who just two years ago called his fellow oil executives' view on climate change problematic and urged them to prepare for the eventual decarbonization of the global economy, today recast the problem and pronounced it to be solved. "Energy realism is taking center stage" again and "the world is finally waking up to the fact that energy is the solution," al-Jaber said at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston. Speaking at the same venue in March 2023, the head of the UAE's national oil company said then that the oil and gas industry had a special responsibility for addressing climate change and that it needed to decarbonize its own operations and help its customers reduce their emissions as well. But speaking today, al-Jaber said that his goal all along has been to "inject realism and pragmatism across the whole process". Al-Jaber in 2023 served as the president of the UN Cop-28 climate conference in the UAE. In that role, "one of the biggest findings I came across very early on was the fact that the narrative [concerning the oil sector and climate change] was completely hijacked, and it was the big responsibility on my shoulder, on my team, to help correct that narrative," al-Jaber said. The Cop-28 summit al-Jaber presided over concluded with a call to transition away from fossil fuels, rather than phase them out. Al-Jaber said his 2023 call to action on his fellow executives has succeeded in "making them be included" and ensured "that they are not only seeing part of the solution, but in fact, the energy business [will] drive the solution." The last two years also witnessed a change in policies in Washington, and in the message from US government officials to CERAWeek attendees. Gone is the talk of decarbonization and net zero emissions, and in its place, US energy secretary Chris Wright on Monday described climate change as a mere "side effect" of economic development. Al-Jaber also said that Adnoc's recently launched energy investment arm XRG views investments in the US not only as a priority but as an "absolute imperative". XRG is looking to invest in natural gas — along the entire supply chain from exploration to distribution — and also in petrochemicals, al-Jaber said. Adnoc last year took a 35pc stake in a hydrogen project at ExxonMobil's Baytown, Texas, refinery and similar investments are a possibility, he said. "Over the next few months... you will be witnessing very serious, large, significant investments by XRG," al-Jaber said. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Nigeria negotiates Dangote naira crude sales extension


25/03/11
25/03/11

Nigeria negotiates Dangote naira crude sales extension

Lagos, 11 March (Argus) — Nigeria's state-owned NNPC said it is in negotiations with the country's 650,000 b/d Dangote refinery about extending a local currency crude sales arrangement. The six-month programme, which ends this month, has seen NNPC sell Dangote almost 300,000 b/d of crude in naira since October 2024, NNPC said. The programme has also involved Dangote selling gasoline and diesel to the domestic market in naira. It has been "a good arrangement until now by reducing gasoline prices, national inflation and by stabilising the naira", according to sources familiar with the matter. Dangote has relied heavily on NNPC's crude since starting up in late 2023. NNPC said it has sold over 84mn bl to the refinery in that time, and Vortexa data show domestically sourced oil accounted for more than 80pc of total crude deliveries to Dangote between January 2024 and February 2025, albeit some of it supplied by private upstream operators. Under the six-month programme, crude prices are set in dollars and Dangote pays in the naira equivalent at a discounted exchange rate. The discounted rate partly explains why Dangote has made successive cuts to its domestic gasoline prices, according to market participants. But there is no guarantee that NNPC will be willing to continue selling at a discount, given that the company is hemmed in by commitments to finance deals used to service its crude sales, a crude trader told Argus . There may also be constraints on the amount of crude the firm has available for domestic refiners, with some sources suggesting it has secured term supply deals up to 2030. NNPC said crude sales under the programme were "subject to availability". The arrangement has evolved since it began. A source at NNPC told Argus that the programme started with Dangote being entitled to pay in naira for any of the first 10 cargoes loaded in a given month and in dollars for additional cargoes thereafter, but now NNPC offers some cargoes strictly for payment in dollars and others with the option of payment in naira. Any further changes to the terms of the extended programme may put pressure on Dangote to consider increasing the amount of foreign crude in its slate. Refinery sources told Argus in January that the refinery will look to source at least half of its crude requirements on the import market and is building eight storage tanks to facilitate this. Whatever terms are agreed, NNPC may have no choice but to continue offering crude to domestic refiners like Dangote under a right of first refusal set out in the country's Petroleum Industry Act, a crude trader said. Upstream regulator NUPRC's Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO) system came into force in May 2023 but it has been controversial, requiring the issuance of clarifying guidelines in July 2024 before changes were implemented last month. According to the new rules, NUPRC will meet with domestic refiners each month before it gets together with upstream operators to review production and loading programmes. Commercial negotiations between producers and refiners must be completed or complaints lodged with the regulator within 48 hours of the upstream meeting. In the short term, demand for Nigerian crude exports appears weak. Traders said around 12 March-loading cargoes were still searching for buyers as of 10 March and most of the April export schedule is available as well. Ample supply of more competitively priced Kazakh-origin light sour CPC Blend, US WTI and Mediterranean sweet crudes is weighing on demand for Nigerian grades in Europe, where the spring refinery maintenance season is about to get underway. This is pushing down values of April-loading Nigerian cargoes. By Adebiyi Olusolape, George Maher-Bonnett and Sanjana Shivdas Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Generic Hero Banner

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more