Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army ousted rival fighters from Libya's fertile oil crescent region ten days ago/ AFP
Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army ousted rival fighters from Libya's fertile oil crescent region ten days ago/ AFP
Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army ousted rival fighters from Libya's fertile oil crescent region ten days ago/ AFP
Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army ousted rival fighters from Libya's fertile oil crescent region ten days ago/ AFP

Libya declares force majeure at giant oil terminals


Jamie Prentis
  • English
  • Arabic

Libya’s oil industry was operating as two separate parts on Monday after the state oil company declared force majeure at some of the country’s largest oil terminals, which are under the control of a rival faction backed by the Libyan National Army.

The escalating dispute has resulted in exports falling by 850,000 barrels per day (bpd) following the LNA blockade and declarations of force majeure depots, having originally been at just over one million bpd.

The army handed over control of the refineries to a rival oil administration based in the military’s headquarters city of Benghazi and has refused to allow any tankers to leave if they have agreements with the internationally recognised National Oil Corporation, based in the capital Tripoli.

A senior official in the LNA-backed division of the NOC said his administration had already reached preliminary agreements to export oil to Russia and China, among other countries.

“Around 85 per cent of Libya’s oil and facilities are in the territory the LNA control. Eventually companies and countries don’t care who they are dealing with – all they want is this oil. They want stability. We are already in deep conversations with multiple companies and people,” said Abdujalil Mayouf, senior adviser to the head of the LNA-backed NOC.

"Under [LNA chief Field Marshal] Khalifa Haftar we have a strong man and a powerful army who can protect Libya's most precious resource," he added.

Haftar’s forces retook two of the largest oil terminals 10 days ago from a rival coalition, led by infamous militia leader Ibrahim Jahdran, that included groups linked to Ansar Al Sharia and Al Qaeda. Oil officials estimated the fallout since the rival groups clashed in the country’s central oil crescent region cost $650 million in damages and lost revenue. However, military, oil and political officials have insisted the step is necessary. Revenues from oil go to the internationally recognised Central Bank of Libya in Tripoli, which is accused of corruption and funding militias the LNA oppose, some allegedly extremist. If exports in LNA territory do restart, revenues will go to the rival CBL it supports in Benghazi.

“I don’t think the international community recognises how isolated the east and south of Libya are. We deserve this money to help our communities. In Tripoli their profits from oil seem to either get lost or end up in the hands of militias who intimidate normal people,” said Mr Mayouf.

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Many have praised the NOC for bringing exports back to over the one million bpd mark, but others question where the money has gone. The NOC in Tripoli has since said the LNA’s decision will “have significant short and long-term consequences for NOC affiliate companies, the national economy and the Libyan people”.

Last week, Field Marshal Haftar said the move was necessary to protect Libya’s oil facilities from further damage and to prevent any more money ending up in the hands of “terrorists”. From 2013-16 Jahdran blockaded the oil crescent region himself and attempted to sell oil, a move officials said cost Libya $100 billion. When the LNA captured the area in 2016, initially they handed over day-to-day running to the Tripoli and international recognised NOC. However, their patience appears to have waned.

“For over a year the state oil company in Tripoli was allowed to take revenues. We allowed them to operate it but there was no improvement in the lives of normal people. Libya needed a change and my colleagues have the expertise to do it,” said Mr Mayouf.

Meanwhile the whereabouts of Jadhran are unclear since he fled the fighting 10 days ago. Senior political sources in the western city of Misrata said he was in the city last week under the protection of fighters loyal to the radical former Grand Mufti Sheikh Sadiq Al Ghariani. Since then, rumours Jahdran had gone to Turkey to gather allies for fresh attacks on the LNA are unconfirmed.

The British in India: Three Centuries of Ambition and Experience

by David Gilmour

Allen Lane

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Virtuzone GCC Sixes

Date and venue Friday and Saturday, ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City

Time Matches start at 9am

Groups

A Blighty Ducks, Darjeeling Colts, Darjeeling Social, Dubai Wombats; B Darjeeling Veterans, Kuwait Casuals, Loose Cannons, Savannah Lions; Awali Taverners, Darjeeling, Dromedary, Darjeeling Good Eggs

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20profile
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Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle

Other shows filmed in Ireland include: Vikings (County Wicklow), The Fall (Belfast), Line of Duty (Belfast), Penny Dreadful (Dublin), Ripper Street (Dublin), Krypton (Belfast)

If you go

The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.

In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sarfira

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal 

Rating: 2/5

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
RESULT

Aston Villa 1
Samatta (41')
Manchester City 2
Aguero (20')
Rodri (30')

Cricket World Cup League Two

Oman, UAE, Namibia

Al Amerat, Muscat

 

Results

Oman beat UAE by five wickets

UAE beat Namibia by eight runs

 

Fixtures

Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia

Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE

Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia

Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia

Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Company%20Profile
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Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company

The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.

He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.

“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.

“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.

HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon. 

With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.

Coming soon

Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura

When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Akira Back Dubai

Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as,  “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems. 

Book%20Details
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ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier

UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs

Standings (P, W, l, NR, points)

1. Thailand 5 4 0 1 9
2. UAE 5 4 1 0 8
3. Nepal 5 2 1 2 6
4. Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5
5. Malaysia 5 1 4 0 2
6. China 5 0 5 0 0

Final
Thailand v UAE, Monday, 7am

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets